Ranger's Apprentice 100 Themes Challenge
by Caramel Cheescake
Summary: My response to the 100 Themes Challenge. I can't quite describe it, because it'll be all over the place, but hopefully, it'll make you smile. Or frown, depending on how I dealt with the theme. Rated T for mild cursing. Spoilers for books 7, 8 and 9.
1. Introduction

*deep breath* Okay. So I have entered a challenge. The '100 Themes' challenge on spookisapuppy's profile. This is going to be interesting, as well as (hopefully) my longest story on here. I AM working on my other stories, so don't fret...especially everybody I actually kinda promised stories to. I will get to them, I'm just facing a general block about them. I look at them, and my mind just blanks. It seriously isn't fair.

Anyway, read on, and I hope you enjoy these drabbles, most of which will probably be about Gilan.

* * *

1. Introduction

Halt's throat was dry. His palms were sweating. His heart was racing. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get the right amount of air into his lungs.

"Are you alright, Halt?"

"Yes. I'm completely fine."

No, he wasn't. And the boy that had just spoken was the source of his problems.

In short, Halt had just acquired an apprentice. This action, of course, was premeditated, but by Halt and the boy's father alone. Not by Crowley in any way. This particular fact was making his heart race, his palms sweat, his throat dry and his breathing irregular. He was terrified of losing his friend's trust. Since he had come to Arulen, every major action was discussed, to some extent with Crowley.

His own introduction to Crowley wasn't easy. Why on earth did he think that this one would be?

"Crowley,"

The head Ranger looked up, noticing Halt and the blonde boy beside him. "Yes?" He raised a sandy coloured eyebrow, implying a completely different question. _Who's this?_

Halt took a silent breath, steadying himself. "This is Gilan, my apprentice." He beat Crowley to his next question. "It has occurred to me that we can't just keep recruiting men our age, since they tend to be a bit set in their ways. If we want the Ranger Corps to continue, we have to recruit the young, and train them, so that we can constantly have new perspective, yet retain the original purpose. He'll be staying at my cabin, and I'll be training him, so the only thing that you'll have to do is access him after a year or so."

Crowley shrugged. "Alright. How old is he?"

"Fifteen."

The head Ranger nodded decisively. "Good. Gilan, was it?"

The aforementioned teen nodded, shyly, uncertainly.

"Go to the man who's close to all of the horses, and tell him that you'll need a uniform."

The boy nodded again, but looked at Halt, as if asking him to come with him. Halt arched an eyebrow. "Well? Go!"

His new apprentice left the tent quickly, and Halt looked back at his best friend and exhaled a giant breath, sitting across from him at the makeshift table. Crowley half smirked.

"What are you so relieved about?"

"For a second, I thought that was going to be hard."

Crowley took a sip of his honey-free coffee, then poured Halt a mug. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you punched me in the face the first time we met!"

"...I thought you were your brother. I heard that he was an ass, and that one of you was missing from Hibernia, and so I figured he'd be that bad at introductions."

There was a pause, then, "...Shut up."

* * *

Did you like it? Because this is where I kinda need help. I need all of you reader/reviewers/people who favourite my stories to bother me. Or encourage me, however you wish to phrase it. I pretty much need you guys to remind me to work on this. I'm trying to implement a steady writing schedule, which means that with this story, I will submit at least three themes (one per chapter) every two days. If this goes two days without being updated, review this or PM me, alright? I will reply to every PM and review. Trust me. I will.


	2. Love

2. Love

Halt watched his apprentice critically. There was something...off about him. It wasn't the caffeine intake; because the hyper stage had passed a couple of weeks ago (Gilan had never had coffee before becoming Halt's apprentice). And it wasn't because he was missing his family; he had gotten over that weeks ago, and he was sending letters regularly. And he wasn't sick or anything; Halt was...fairly certain about that.

So why, exactly, was he missing targets that he hit perfectly last week?

_This_, Halt told himself, _was the perfect test for his apprentice. _Following him through the woods, seeing if he noticed, or was suspicious, at the very least. To his immense disappointment, Gilan didn't notice him at all. Halt followed his apprentice to his destination almost listlessly, upset and sulking about his bad mentoring. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe the boy should go back to BattleSchool. Maybe...Halt's depressed thoughts trailed off as he saw why Gil was walking, distracted, through the woods.

Gilan knew that there was something wrong as soon as he walked into his mentor's cabin. Halt was sitting at the kitchen table, smirking like he found out something that Gil didn't want him to...

Halt motioned for the boy to sit down. When he did, he began to talk. "So, I was thinking..."

Gil gulped. Nothing good ever followed that statement...

"I was thinking that you needed more work to do."

Another gulp, this one accompanied by a sinking feeling. "More...more work?"

His mentor nodded, clearly pleased with himself. "Exactly. Housework and the like. Dishes, woodcutting, generally cleaning the cabin up." With each word, Halt's smugness rose while Gil's face and stomach fell steadily.

Drawing a breath, Gilan asked, "Why?"

"So you won't be distracted. Think of it as...practice for when you go on missions. Now," Halt pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. "I believe you have dishes to do." And with that he walked out of the cabin.

As he stacked the dishes, Gilan realized that Halt had, somehow, found him out. _Well_, he _thought. I'll prove him wrong. I'll show him that she isn't a distraction, and that I can work, including all of these stupid chores, and still see her. _

-Two months later-

Gil walked back to Halt's cabin, barely seeing the branches that nearly hit him in the face, because of the dark that had fallen, but more so due to the tears that clouded his eyes. _Halt was right_, he thought bitterly. _This was an entirely stupid idea_. It's not like she cared as much as Gil did anyhow.

He stopped when he reached the porch, taking time to take a few deep breaths and compose himself. No matter how hurt he was, he was not going to show Halt that he was breaking down in the name of love.

* * *

Hmmm. I seem to be a pretty depressing individual...most of these might be angst or revenge fics, which could be influenced by whatever I'm listening to at the time (Lily Allen and P!nk)


	3. Light

3. Light

Will sighed and rubbed his aching eyes. The candlelight was giving him a headache, like the lack of sleep. Outside was still dark, the blackness so dense it seemed to throb. A claustrophobic type of darkness. The _kind of darkness that would make Horace uncomfortable_, Will thought, smiling wryly.

The fact that these documents were entirely uninteresting didn't help his headache. More often than not, the Ranger found himself looking into the dark, and the feeling of uncertainly would return. Uncertainty about his ability to be a Ranger who could actually do things properly. Will knew that this was ridiculous, but the pressing darkness brought up things that he hadn't thought of in years. Like Princess Cassandra being captured by the Temujai, and losing Tug and getting lost in the Arridi desert looking for him.

His miserable thoughts got darker and darker until his mind, interesting enough, went blank.

"Daddy?"

Will's eyes shot open and he took in his surroundings. The paperwork against his cheek surprised him, at least until he realized that he had fallen asleep on his desk. He raised his head, rubbing the papery feeling away.

"Good morning Aurora."

His three year old daughter beamed at him, then climbed into his lap and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back. "What was that for?"

Aurora slid off of Will's lap, still holding his fingers. She tugged him towards the kitchen, the sun catching in her golden brown hair.

"For being the best daddy Ranger in the world!"

Will smiled to himself. Aurora always divided Rangers into categories: daddy Ranger, grandpa Ranger, uncle Ranger, which there were a lot of, actually.

As Will followed her to the kitchen, he reflected that he could always count on his daughter to be the light at the end of all of his deep, dark tunnels.

* * *

For anybody wondering, Will is married to Alyss in this. Make no mistake, I don't like the girl, but she was required in this context. If she's in another drabble, one where she isn't the mother of Will's children, she will probably be put through humiliating situations. If you're a fan, sorry. If you aren't, feel free to give suggestions. *evil grin*


	4. Dark

Haha! An update! When I said that there would be. Whoo! Anyway...this is another appearance by Will's daughter, Aurora. There's also a tidbit of embarrassing information (what she'd think was embarrassing, because it was undignified) information on Alyss. So, read on!

* * *

4. Dark

Aurora was stuck. Well, at least she thought she was. She kicked her legs, trying to get out. Yup, she was definitely stuck. She sighed, stirring the hair that had fallen into her face. Chasing the rabbit into this log was a really bad idea...especially since it was dark and kind of damp. The earthy smell wasn't too bad, but it did get overpowering after a bit. Aurora relaxed, and then tensed when she realized something. _What if she never got out?_

Desperately trying to hold in her panic, she frantically tried to pull herself free. Unfortunately, it seemed the more she tried to pull, the more she seemed to stay put. The dark seemed to be pressing in on her now. She could see what uncle Horace was talking about now, about his fears of being trapped in a cave, of any other small dark place. The darkness seemed to merge with the smell, which started to seep into Aurora's lungs and wrap around her throat, choking and suffocating her. Finally, she could take it no longer.

"Daddy!"

Within seconds, Aurora felt hands on her waist, and then suddenly, she was free. Gulping in air, she turned towards her father and clung to him desperately. Looking up, she saw that he was barely containing a grin. Aurora glared at Will, looking very much like her mother.

"What's so funny?"

"It's nothing," He chuckled. Then grinned. "Don't tell your mother, but when we were about six, the same thing happened to her."

Aurora thought about it; her mother, small, screaming, and stuck in a log, her legs thrashing as she tried to pull herself out. She grinned. She squirmed in her father's arms and he out her down. Then she realized something; her father had saved her awfully quickly...

"Daddy, where you watching me when I was stuck in the log?"

Will hid a smirk. "I could've been." He began to back up as Aurora began to advance.

"You _knew_ I was there," she was using her mother's angry tone. "And you _left_ me there, in the _dark_, where I could've _died_. What kind of daddy are you?"

Those were almost the exact words her mother had used. A chuckle escaped his lips, and that chuckle set Aurora off. She increased her speed to running and began chasing her father around the field.

Tug watched them run and snorted softly, as if he were laughing. _It's funny what insulting a girl's fear of the dark will do._


	5. Seeking Solace

5. Seeking Solace

Gilan eyed his mentor warily. He'd been staying with Halt for over a year, and he'd never seen him like this. He seemed sort of...depressed. He wasn't taking his usual pleasure from tormenting Gil. Of course, he was still assigning his apprentice unnecessary, hard chores, but he wasn't gloating about not having to do them.

Halt also seemed older, somehow. In Gil's opinion, he was ancient, but he just...

"Halt?"

"Hm?"

"Are...are you alright?"

Halt nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem...down. I thought that something was wrong."

Halt was touched that his apprentice actually noticed, considering how he guarded his emotions. Or thought he did. Hm. The thought that he was becoming easy to read worried him, but he clung steadfastly to the slightly happy feeling.

However, there was absolutely no way he was letting Gil win that easily.

Gil's arms and shoulders ached. This _had_ to be enough wood for at least a month. He carried the split wood into the house, pieces of bark sticking to his clothes and prickling his arms. He almost dumped the wood just inside and to the left of the door, but then he saw Halt, who would usually be looking at reports at this time, was kind of spacing out. He gulped silently and quietly stacked the wood by the fireplace, and then went out for the next load. When he finished stacking all of the split wood, he swept the bark from the path he took to stack the wood and dumped them into the fireplace.

If he had looked back before he went to fill the water barrel, he would've caught Halt's brief smile.

Three days and what felt like a million chores later, Halt was not happy. He appreciated Gil doing his chores without complaint, but his apprentice was avoiding him.

Just before he went to bed, Gil finished putting away the dishes. He turned to tell Halt that he was going to bed, but something else came from his mouth.

"Halt, I know that you said that everything was fine, but if anything bothering you...feel free to rant at me about it anytime okay?"

Something flickered in Halt's eyes, and he smiled at Gil. "Thanks."

On impulse, Gil stepped forward and hugged his mentor. "And whatever isn't bothering you right now, I hope...well, I hope you make peace with it." And then he went to bed.

Halt grinned and made himself a cup of coffee, telling himself that he could always rely on his apprentice for solace.

* * *

Erm. So. I don't exactly have the next chapter complete, BUT! It will be completed and posted before I go to bed. I promise. And it'll probably be short. One hundred words, at least.


	6. Break Away

6. Break Away

It was crowded. Will never really liked crowded places, especially when he was with his son, Daniel, who was a year and a half.

"Daddy? Whassat?"

Will looked where his son was pointing. "That's a weapon shop, Danny."

"Oh. Whassat?"

Will sighed silently. He know that this wasn't even close to the amount of questions he asked when he was Halt's apprentice, but it sure felt like it was. "That's a food stall."

"Oh. Whassat?"

And so on. The Ranger quickly trained himself to see what his son was pointing at and respond, then tune him out until the next 'Whassat'.

Believe it or not, Will was on a mission. Sort of. He was supposed to check out a place undercover, then return and find information. The undercover part is where Danny came in; Will would be less recognizable and relevant if he had a child with him. Surprisingly, Alyss didn't really protest to her son being part of what could be a dangerous enterprise.

After a bit of walking, Will realized that something wasn't quite right. Like something was missing. Something like...his son!

Will gulped, forced down his panic and tried to think. Why would Danny let go of his hand? The Ranger that though back to his son's last 'Whassat' and his own response.

"_Whassat, Daddy?"_

"_A toy shop."_

"_Oh."_

Oh. Will turned around and ran to the area his son had pointed to, and sure enough there he was. Danny jumped when his father put his hand on his shoulder, but then he looked back and smiled.

"Hi Daddy! The wawk was gettin' bowing, so I came hewe."

_Uh-huh. _Will thought, hugging his son tightly. _And that's a good enough reason for you to break away.

* * *

_Really short. And random. And I don't like it! But you guys might...


	7. Heaven

7. Heaven

"Halt?"

Halt assumed that there was question after this, which is why he didn't actually say anything, opting instead to grunt.

"Halt," There was a pause. "What's heaven?"

The grizzled Ranger was actually rendered speechless. Will, of course didn't really notice, because he was talking again.

"I mean, there are a whole bunch of saying and songs about it, right? So that means that somebody went there, came back, and told people about it. But people can't come back from the dead, so...somebody's lying."

Halt conveniently covered his shock. "And how did you reach that conclusion, exactly?"

"If heaven's so great, why would you wanna come back _here_?"

Halt snorted. "Never underestimate how much people want to gloat, Will."

His apprentice shrugged. "Well, yeah, but if they get cocky, they can't go back to heaven, right? So the best solution is to stay in heaven and enjoy it."

Halt held in a frustrated sigh. Thinking really was a dangerous pastime. It was doing his head in.

"Halt?"

Will's mentor looked at him, wary. "Yes?"

"Am I going to heaven?"

Halt, once again, was speechless. Partly because Will was giving him this hopeful look, like he expected Halt to be his salvation. Mostly though, it was because...he actually didn't know. The things Rangers did weren't exactly ethical sometimes.

"I...I...um..."

Before he could think of anything to say, Will ran out of the cabin.

In the middle of the woods, Will burst into laughter.

"See? I told you that asking Halt about heaven would screw him up."

Will grinned at his mentor's former apprentice. "He was just so..._confused_. I though Halt couldn't even _do_ confused. He was like..." Will scrunched up his nose and narrowed his eyes in confused disbelief, and this time Gil burst into laughter. Will grinned back, thinking of how great it was to have somebody who knew how to bug Halt without being in danger of death.

* * *

This...was supposed to be fluffy. But then I realized that Halt wasn't really a religious person, and if you add that to Will's naive...ette(?), and Gil's slightly cruel humour, you get a confused and speechless Halt and a laughing pair of his apprentices.


	8. Innocence

8. Innocence

"Grandpa Halt?"

Halt looked down at his 'grandson', who was beaming up at him. In a tiny version of a Ranger cloak.

"Where on earth did you get that?"

Benny pulled the hood up. "Papa got it for me."

Ah. This was Gilan's idea of a joke. Halt knelt so that he was eye to eye with the four-year-old.

"Any why would he do that?"

"Because I wanna be just like you."

Halt felt pride and sorrow flash in his heart. He knew (guessed, really) that Gilan had told his son about his legendary mentor, exaggerating details to make everything sound more grand, but he probably missed (conveniently) the more gory details of why Halt was a legend. Benny knew that Ranger's were protectors of Arulen, but he didn't know, exactly, how his homeland was kept safe sometimes.

Halt sighed and smiled at the child. He was only four, and, with luck, he'd keep his innocence for a long while longer. He stood and took Benny's hand.

"Come. If you want to be like me, you have to learn to ride Abelard."

"Kay. Grandpa Halt?"

"Yes?"

"Can I have some coffee?"

Inwardly, Halt started laughing, devising an imaginary plot to give Benny as much caffeine as he could just before Gil came back to get him.

* * *

New character! Ladies and gentlemen, meet Gil's son, Benedick. He's four in this story, and he has pale, peachy orange hair (I'm not sure if you guys can imagine that), and blue eyes. His mother died during childbirth, and she gave him that hair. I may write a story about that. Hm.


	9. Drive

9. Drive

"What are you waiting for, Will? Start them up!"

Will gulped. "I, uh,"

The truth was that he was scared. The only was he knew how to control horses was actually riding them. Driving a pair attached to a cart, one that was full of his friends, was a very nerve-wracking experience for him.

Horace wacked Will in the back of his head, making him flinch. "Come _on_ Will. Lets _go_. We have places to be."

Will found a way to cover his nerves. "We don't actually. We are doing absolutely nothing." He grinned, knowing that his friend blushed when the others laughed at him.

"You're lucky I don't hate you anymore, apprentice sneaker."

"That's national hero to you!"

Jenny lat out one last giggle and climbed next to Will. Lowering her voice so she wouldn't be heard over George's overeager taunts at Horace and the knight's rebuttals, she said, "Do you not know how to drive a cart, Will?"

Will blushed and nodded. Jenny smiled reassuringly at him. "It isn't hard. They're not as smart as your Ranger horses, so they won't pick up on any small signals you give. Just click at them to get them to start, and pull on the reins to turn or stop them. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to keep Horace from crushing my meat pies, so that he won't get mad and insult that pony of yours again." With that, she climbed back into the cart with the rest of their friends.

The apprentice Ranger smiled and started the horses, prompting a 'Hallelujah!' from Horace.

Driving, really, was like friendship. It seems hard when you don't know what you're doing, but once you get your bearings, it's as easy as 1-2-3.

* * *

Um. I wrote this in about ten minutes. I know the last line is really, _really _cheesy, but...it's kinda sweet too. And this is set a little bit after The Battle for Skandia.


	10. Breathe Again

Um, there's kind of a spoiler for Book 9 in here, so if you haven't read it, sorry...

* * *

10. Breathe Again

Halt knew that he had to run. The ache in his shoulder reminded him of all those other times he'd almost died and how he'd just thought that they were accidents and how lucky he was to escape them. Well, except for that one incident, but Ferris trying to drown him pretty much confirmed what he'd been suspecting for years.

He crept into the stables, wary. He knew that his twin wasn't all that popular, but Ferris still could've convinced some men to be loyal to him. Luckily it was late, and the boy who was supposed to be guarding the stables was asleep. Halt felt a pang of pity for the boy, knowing how much trouble he'd be in when he woke up with a missing horse, but there was no help for it. He selected a small pony that he knew was hardy, and saddled it silently. He then led it out behind the stables and attached the pouch full of food and water that he had taken from the kitchen. He mounted the horse afterward, and urged it into a trot, silently saying goodbye to his homeland.

Six hours later, Halt was dying for a cup of coffee. He knew that wasn't important, but it didn't stop the craving. In order to distract himself, he looked at the map he brought with him, searching for a place that was far enough from his homeland that people wouldn't think to look for him there, but close enough that the horse wouldn't be bone-weary when he got there. He pinpointed a location on the map.

"Hm. Arulen. Maybe they'll have coffee there, hey?" The horse beside Halt snorted, as if replying. Halt smiled. "How about we camp here for tonight, and then get going in the morning? Maybe when we get to Arulen, I can breathe again."


	11. Memory

11. Memory

"Grandpa Halt, what was your favourite mem'ry from when Daddy was your 'prentice?"

Will sighed inwardly, knowing that Halt would pick something embarrassing to tell his daughter.

"That would be the time he had sleep in a tree."

Aurora giggled. "Daddy had to sleep in a tree? How come?"

Halt paused, knowing that his former apprentice was grinning. "I told him to."

The six year old shrugged, easily accepting this answer. She turned to her father. "Daddy, what was your favourite mem'ry when you were Grandpa Halt's 'prentice?"

"Probably the time we met Salt Peter."

Aurora wrinkled her nose in thought. "Didn't that happen before the boar hunt where you saved Uncle Horace's life?"

Will nodded and began to tell a story that they all knew well.

"Will."

Will jumped slightly when he heard his ex-mentor's voice. God, did he _have_ to keep doing that?

Halt chuckled. "Nice to know that I haven't lost my touch."

His former apprentice snorted.

"Will," Halt hesitated. "Why is me yelling at Salt Peter your favourite memory?"

"It...kind of made you seem more human."

"As opposed to what? Godly?"

Will sighed. "Of course Halt, of course."

* * *

*hangs head* I fail at fluff...


	12. Insanity

12. Insanity

_This_, Halt thought, _is ridiculous_. He glared at the small black and white puppy across the room.

"You know, no matter how much Crowley thinks of me, he isn't going to believe that a dog chewed up those reports."

Smudge waged her tail happily. Halt sighed and went to pour himself a cup of coffee. When he heard the clicking of Smudge's claws on the floor, he turned and looked down at her. She placed the soggy, chewed reports at his feet and barked, seeming to grin up at him.

"Oh, and that, of course, is going to make everything alright, is it?"

She reared up on her hind legs and placed her paws on Halt's knees, her tail waving madly.

Despite himself, Halt smiled and patted Smudge, and then pushed her down gently. He picked up the reports and went to the kitchen table, wincing slightly as he wiped to dog drool off.

"Keeping Smudge was Pauline's idea," he reassured himself.

Upon hearing a noise behind him, Halt wearily turned to see what it was.

"Oh no."

Later, as he tried he figure out exactly how to explain why he was in the possession of a drool covered and chewed piece of royal mail, he reflected that someday, that dog would drive him to insanity.

* * *

This...was actually going to be about Halt babysitting Will and Gilan's kids, but I couldn't write it for some reason.


	13. Misfortune

13. Misfortune

Gil looked up as Will came through his front door and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Um. Wow. What happened?" Halt had told Gil to watch is apprentice for a few days, but he didn't expect something like this to happen.

Will, the poor boy, was drenched, missing a big chunk of his cloak and was covered in leaves and mud. He squelched his way to the fireplace and sat down with a plop. "Nothing," He snapped moodily.

"You know, if Halt comes to back today, and you're like this, he is _not_ going to be happy. And then he'll kill me. And then regret it. And then Crowley would get mad and the Ranger Corps would fall apart. Is that what you want to happen? Is it?"

As hard he fought, Will couldn't hold back a smile. "Alright. I fell into a pond."

Gil seemed disappointed. "That's it?"

"...After I got chased by a dog. Through a swamp." Will scooted a little closer to the hearth, shivering.

"Why were you being chased by a dog?"

Will turned and glared at the older Ranger. "Are you suggesting, Gil, that I'm soaking and muddy because I _wanted_ to be?"

Gil smirked. "What would you do if I was?"

The apprentice Ranger didn't miss a beat. "Then I'd hug you."

Gil shuddered. "Okay, I'm not saying that you got all wet and muddy on purpose. I'm just asking what happened."

Will, now completely facing Gil, squirmed a little bit closer to the fire. "Okay. So, I went to go see Alyss, but it turns out that she was really busy, so I went to this one bakery, because I was hungry and they make _really_ good lemon tarts, 'cause the baker there was a student of Master Chubb's, but when I get there, they're out of tarts and just about to close for lunch, so I just started to go home. When I started walking home, I saw this dog, and it looked really friendly, I mean, its tail was wagging and everything, but when I was about to pet it, it growled and tried to take a chunk out of my hand. So I start running and seriously wishing that I had Tug with me, 'cause I would've gotten out of there much faster and this wouldn't have happened."

He held up the back of his cloak, indicating the missing piece.

"I thought that he'd be satisfied with chewing on my cloak for a while, but he kept chasing me and snarling, so I kind of ignored where I was going and just ran."

Gil sipped his coffee. "Hence the swamp."

The sodden boy nodded. "Hence the swamp. Which slowed me down, but it slowed the dog down too. And once he was a considerable distance behind me, I...started to run backwards...and fell into a pond."

Gil laughed. Then his eyes widened. "Uh, Will..."

Will froze. "What?"

"Your cloak..."

Will guessed from the shocked look on Gilan's face that his cloak was on fire. He ripped it off and stomped on it vigorously.

"How did that even happen?" He said when the flames were out. "I was soaking wet!"

Gil gave up on holding in his laughter.

* * *

That night, after Will had hung his clothes to dry and gone to bed, Gil stood in his doorway watching him sleep.

_Poor kid,_ he thought. _He's has such a crappy day_.

Will, unaware, rolled a little too close to the edge of his bed...

"Ow! God, what is with today?"

The tall Ranger slipped away unnoticed, and managed to keep his laughter at bay.

At least until he reached the stables.

* * *

Poor Will. Too bad tormenting him is so much fun...


	14. Smile

14. Smile

"Daddy?"

Will looked down at his two year old daughter. "Yes Aurora?"

"What's wrong with Uncle Gil?"

Her father sighed. "He's...he's just...upset right now."

"How come?"

"Because Arabella passed away."

"Oh. What does passed away mean?"

"...go ask your Grandpa Halt."

"'Kay."

Gil stood at his son's cradle, trying hard not to cry. Not that it was doing much good, because some tears slid down his cheek and dripped inside the crib anyway. He was in to process of swallowing a sob when he heard Will behind him.

Unlike almost everybody else, Will didn't ask Gil if he was okay, and the tall Ranger silently thanked heaven for that.

"Did you name him?"

"Yeah," To his own surprise, Gil's voice was steady. "It's Benedick. Look Will, don't try to-"

"Do you remember," Will said, interrupting Gil's statement. "The first mission we went on together?"

Gil nodded. "You saved Arulen and Skandia."

Will waved his hand, dismissing this. "Remember those two guys that almost ambushed me and George? And how you dealt with them?"

The taller Ranger smiled and chuckled a bit. "Yes. What about them?"

Will smiled back. "Nothing really. I just wanted to see you smile."

Gil glared at him in mock anger. "How dare you? My son will avenge this, I swear it!"

"Of course he will Gil." Will replied, turning to exit the room, his personal duty done.

* * *

See? Told you that I'd write something about Benny's mother. She isn't Jenny, as you can see, but Jenny loves the kid, so she's like a mother figure to him.


	15. Silence

15. Silence

Aurora cringed at a crash from somewhere behind her. It was just so loud here, in the kitchen of Jenny's restaurant. At home, it was completely different. Mama and Daddy spoke quietly to each other, and she and Danny didn't get too loud when they played; here, something was always draping, or shattering, or crashing, there were always orders that seemed to have to be yelled, and it was driving aurora crazy.

She flinched at another crash and the sudden tap to her shoulder. She looked up at the tall teenager who was smiling softly down at her.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded.

"Oh. You just looked like you were at your wits' end or something. Come," He offered Aurora his hand and the six year old took it hesitantly. He worked in Jenny's kitchen; he wasn't going to hurt her, right? He gently led her to a somewhat quieter corner, and handed her a cupcake.

"There. I'll be sure to tell Miss Jenny where you are so she doesn't whack me over the head with that ladle of hers."

Aurora nodded and the teen left.

The Ranger's daughter took a bite of her cupcake. Wow. If silence was the price she had to pay for pastry this good, she'd do it every time.

* * *

Really short, as you can see...I couldn't really think of anything else...


	16. Questioning

16. Questioning

"So you're Halt?"

Halt nodded, saying nothing.

The man he had captured (and tied to a tree) scoffed. "You can't be Halt. He's much bigger."

Inwardly, Halt sighed. At this point, people who didn't believe who he was annoyed him to no end, and he usually ended up losing his temper.

"The real Halt is more muscular too..."

Halt spoke for the first time. "And I suppose that you've met the real Halt."

"Yes," The man smirked. "In fact, I've captured him."

The Ranger arched an eyebrow. "Have you now?"

The man, although he was tied to a tree, and therefore in no position to annoy his captor, continued. "Of course I did. He not as great a Ranger as everybody says he is."

For Halt, this was the final straw. As his prisoner continued talking, he took an arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and fired within the time frame of a few seconds.

The prisoner was cut off, not by an arrow in his throat, but so close that it almost nicked his skin. Realizing something, he felt his heart begin to beat faster. But, unwisely, he decided to keep talking.

"You missed."

"Did I?" Halt said in a dangerous voice. "Standing this close to you. Hm. That's strange."

Hs prisoner gulped. "You...you're really Halt, aren't you?"

Halt nodded. "Which is why I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them clearly and truthfully. Or else it won't be ropes holding you against that tree."

* * *

Just in case you're wondering, this guy was kind of inspired by Salt Peter.


	17. Blood

17. Blood

Danny was convinced that he was dying. There was blood coming from his leg, and Daddy was taking far too long to fix it. And besides that, it _burned_.

"Daddy," he began dramatically, "When I die, can you make sure that Mommy and 'rora aren't sad?"

Will bit back laughter. "And _why_ do you think that you're dying?"

Danny looked up at his father, his face resigned. "Because I'm bweeding and it hurts."

This time, Will couldn't hold in his laughter. His son gave him a dismayed look.

"It isn't funny!"

The Ranger choked down his chuckles. "Sorry. But, Danny, you aren't dying."

"But-"

"It's just a scrape. Relax. And you're lucky I'm not your Grandpa Halt."

"How come?"

"He would've made you believe that you were dying."

* * *

Okay, in case anybody is wondering why Danny changes his 'r's to 'w's, it's because there's a story by Rowana Renee that has Will as a little kid, and that's how he talks. Danny inherited it.


	18. Rainbow

18. Rainbow

"Daddy?"

Will, distracted from his conversation with Gilan, looked at his son, who was soaking. It was pouring outside. Will quickly made the correlation; wet son, plus pouring rain equals...

"Why were you outside?"

Danny shook his wet golden brown hair from his face. "'Cause I was twying to tie the wain."

Gil effectively covered a laugh with a cough as Will stared at his three year old son, trying to figure out exactly what he was talking about.

"Why?"

"'Cause Auwowa and Benny said that wain can make wainbows, and you can tie stwing into bows, so I tried to tie the wain."

Gil gave into his laughter as his colleague attempted to explain to his determined son that you couldn't tie water, ever if it does make 'wainbows'.

* * *

Pathetically short. And it's supposed to be funny...


	19. Gray

19. Gray

"I do not," Aurora announced, "like gray."

Her 'grandfather' looked up. "And why not?"

"It's just so..." The seven year old paused, thinking hard about her answer. "Indecisive."

Halt held back a laugh. "Indecisive?"

"Yeah. It isn't black and it isn't white. It's not even a colour, it's a tint! Normally, when you mix two colours, you get another colour, but that doesn't even work with gray!"

"Black and white aren't colours." The Ranger said mildly. Aurora glared at him.

"Yes they are." She said this so venomously that Halt didn't try to dispute her.

As Aurora continued to rant, Halt wondered, exactly, why she was so angry about it.

* * *

Halfway to Redmont castle, Will chuckled, thinking about the hell that Aurora was giving his former mentor. It's funny how angry his daughter gets when you suggest she wear a gray dress.

* * *

...This wouldn't work any other way I tried...sorry it's so crappy.


	20. Fortitude

20. Fortitude

Gil took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. It was time to put Benny to bed.

At the moment, the four year old was bouncing around the house, wearing his mini Ranger cloak and threatening to capture imaginary foes, some made up, and some from the stories his father told him. The tall Ranger knew that when Benny was this excited, it would be really hard to calm him down and put him to bed.

Gil caught his son as he dashed by. "Benny, its bedtime."

"But," the little boy said, eyes wide. "Then who's going to catch Slagor?"

"Benny," Gil picked his son up, "You can catch Slagor tomorrow."

"Kay. But Papa, I'm not sleepy."

This is what Gilan was dreading. "You will be in a bit."

"But Papa, I'm busy! I have to catch Morgerath, 'cause he's working with Slagor, and they're gunna try and take over Arulen and Arrida and Skandia!"

"They won't try and take over until tomorrow. Look, if you promise to go to bed and go to sleep, I'll tell you a story."

Gil could see that his son had another 'but Papa' on the tip of his tongue, but the promise of a story stopped it cold.

"Is there a dragon in it?"

Gil nodded. For some reason, Benny was obsessed with dragon stories.

The four year old smiled. "Kay. I guess it's time for bed then."

* * *

Gil closed his son's bedroom door as quietly as he could, sighing silently in relief. Sometimes, it seemed like nothing could stop Benny's fortitude.

* * *

Another Benny fic! So, what do you guys think of him, anyway? Tell me in your reviews!


	21. Vacation

21. Vacation

"I do _not_ need a vacation."

"Halt, you cursed for five minutes straight when you spilled your coffee yesterday. You definitely need a vacation."

Halt snorted softly, but avoided glaring at his wife. Glaring would only make her angry, and he definitely didn't want that.

"Halt."

He looked up. Pauline was glaring. Halt narrowly avoided cringing, but decided to keep arguing.

"Pauline, it's winter. Where would we go anyway?"

His wife's voice was very calm, and Halt did his best not to look up at her. "Someplace warm."

Halt didn't reply, instead seeming to be very intent on studying his reports.

"Halt!" Pauline snapped.

The Ranger flinched and looked up.

"We are going on vacation."

Halt swallowed and nodded, too afraid to disagree.

* * *

...Halt didn't seem to be the type to take a vacation, so I made Pauline make him.


	22. Mother Nature

22. Mother Nature

"Alyss?"

The blonde seven year old looked back at the ward attendant, her hand poised above the doorknob.

"Don't go outside, there's going to be a storm."

Alyss snorted silently as the attendant left the room. She'd go outside if she wanted to! It's not like nature could hurt her or anything.

* * *

She had intended to play by the stream, but when Alyss got there, it was flowing a little too fast for her liking, so she decided to play by the edge of the forest.

Alyss had just sat down and started to play with the toys that were always there when a toad hopped into her lap. She froze. Alyss _hated_ toads, almost as much as she hated bees and grasshoppers. Combined. So, she jumped up and started screaming, beating at her dress.

The toad, which had fallen from her lap when she jumped up, gave her what appeared to be the evil eye, and hopped off.

Alyss shuddered. Hopefully, she wouldn't see any more of those for the rest of her _life_. A little too afraid to keep playing by the woods, she decided to go to the stables.

* * *

When Alyss was halfway to the stables, there was an enormous crack, a blinding flash, and just like that, it started pouring. Alyss started to run back to the Ward, but slipped and fell into a patch of mud, and then rolled into a pile of wet, foul smelling leaves.

* * *

Will looked up when the door opened, and his eyes went wide.

"Alyss? What happened?"

"Nothing!" Alyss stomped to her room and slammed the door behind her. As she fell into her bed with a squelch, she reflected on something.

Never_ try to defy Mother Nature_.

* * *

And here is the embarrassing chapter about Alyss I've been meaning to write...


	23. Cat

23. Cat

Will crept into the kitchen as quietly as he could, meaning to get a snack. Due to his Ranger training, he was near-silent, but that wasn't good enough.

"What are you doing, Will?"

Will shrieked and jumped. He turned around to see Halt sitting in a chair in the living room.

"Halt, you almost killed me!"

Halt raised an eyebrow, seemingly uncaring.

"What exactly are you doing up?"

Will gulped. "Uh...I was hungry...and I couldn't sleep...and..." he trailed off.

"And...?" Gil prompted from behind Will.

"Gah! Why does everybody keep doing that?"

"Well," Gil said stepping around Will, who was still breathing heavily from being scared witless. "One of the perks of being a Ranger is that you can have your fun by sneaking up on people and scare them witless." He patted Will's shoulder. "You'll be able to do it too."

Will gave Gil a wary look. Then he got an idea. "Actually, the reason I'm up right now is because I have a question."

"Is that really a surprise?" Halt asked dryly. Gil smirked.

Will, who didn't seem to notice the sarcasm, continued. "How did Gil find out that you were allergic to cats?"

Gill grinned. "Now, _that_ is an interesting story."

"Of course it is," Halt added. "Especially if you lie when you tell it."

Gill shifted his gaze from Will to Halt. "Two things. Number one, I've never told anybody this story, and number two, I don't _lie_ when I tell it."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Halt said. "You don't lie, you, how did you put this, 'magnify the excitement'. Which is the same as lying."

"It is _not_." Gil said indignantly.

Halt took a sip of coffee before responding. "And tampering with the mail it legal."

Gil scoffed. "Because, _that_, of _course_ stops you from doing it."

"You're missing my point Gil."

"Oh, am I?" He said with a grin. "And what would that be exactly?"

No thoughts of interrupting crossed Will's mind; frankly, this was just too entertaining. He grabbed an apple from the fruit basket, sat down at the kitchen table and ate as quietly as he could, watching the mentor and former apprentice verbally battle each other. Then, suddenly they turned on him, making him jump and almost choke on his apple. He swallowed hard.

"Umm, yes?"

Gil walked into the kitchen and sat at the table across from Will.

"No matter what Halt says, this is what actually happened."

* * *

Halt walked into his cabin, completely distracted. Crowley has just given him a stack a reports about a foot thick, and he expected Halt to memorize all of them. In two days.

Once he finished memorizing those reports, Halt was going to give Crowley hell.

* * *

"Wait," Halt said, indignant. "How did you know about those reports?"

Gil grinned at Will. To Halt, he said, "You complained about them. Extensively."

"I didn't _complain_."

"Yes you did. Now be quiet, I'm trying to tell Will what happened."

* * *

Gil stood in front of the door, taking deep breaths, steeling himself. He had to be quick and quiet, and use the skills that Halt taught him. This was the problem. He was trying to sneak past Halt, his teacher and mentor, which would be the ultimate challenge. But he could do it. He _had_ to.

* * *

"Why?" Will's bright voice cut into Gilan's narrative.

"You'll have to wait and see," Halt said icily, irritated.

Will looked at Halt curiously, and then grinned widely. "He got past you, didn't he?"

His mentor glowered at him. "It was only because I knew it was him."

Gil smirked. "Keep telling yourself that Halt. Anyway..."

* * *

Gil closed his bedroom door behind him, breathing a sigh of relief. Getting past Halt was essential to his plan. Now in the safety of his room, he let the cat out of his cloak. She sat down at his feet, looked up at him, and mewed. He squatted and scratched her ears, shushing her.

Suddenly, he realized something: getting past Halt was the easy part. The hard part would be hiding the cat.

* * *

"How did he get a cat past you? I wasn't even in the house with the kitten and you were suspicious! And Gil, why did you sneak a cat past Halt? Why didn't you just ask him if you could have a pet?"

"Halt wouldn't let me have a pet."

Will turned to Halt, the 'why' evident in his eyes.

"Having an apprentice was bad enough. I didn't need an animal on top of it."

Will shrugged. "So, how did Gil find out that you were allergic?"

A slow evil smile stretched across the older Ranger's face. "I'll tell that part."

* * *

When Halt woke up, he felt awful; his nose was stuffed up, his eyes were itchy, and he had a massive headache. And for some reason, he couldn't stop sneezing.

He met his apprentice on his way to the kitchen, which was odd, because he rarely (okay, never) woke up before sunrise. In fact, Halt would usually drag him out of bed, after threatening his life several times. However Halt barely noticed these details, only because of how sick he felt.

* * *

"What?" Halt said, eyeing Will's confused face.

"You...you're not...uhh..."

"Spit it out," Halt growled.

His apprentice flinched. "It's just...whenever you tell stories, you kind of play up your role in it."

Gil laughed in response, and Halt, annoyed, continued on with the story.

* * *

Gil looked up sharply when Halt sat down across from him. He got up immediately and poured Halt a cup of coffee. This wasn't something he did normally, but maybe if he started, Halt wouldn't notice the cat. Who seemed to be a bit overweight, come to think of it...

Halt looked up when his apprentice place a mug of coffee next to his arm. There was an alarm bell clanging quietly in the back of his mind, but frankly, he felt too horrible to care.

"Halt? Are you okay?"

The Ranger (after taking a sip of coffee, of course) folded his arms and placed his head on them. "What do _you_ think?"

"Uh...you aren't?"

Halt sighed, too exhausted to do anything else.

* * *

"I fail to see what you like so much about this part."

The eldest Ranger rolled his eyes. "That's because you aren't thinking."

Will gave him a dismayed look. "You said that apprentices weren't supposed to think!"

Gilan chuckled. "He's got you there. And if you keep rolling your eyes, I think that they'll get stuck back there."

Halt growled, "Moving on..."

* * *

Halt lay in bed, trying to convince himself to get up. It had been two weeks now, and he still felt horrendous. His internal motivation was interrupted by knock on his door. Gil stuck his head in.

"Halt? Are you okay?"

This time, the teen's mentor didn't try to argue. "No. Can you go get a physician, please?"

Gil's eyes went wide. "What? You're sick? You can't be sick, who's gunna make sure I do my chores? Or my training? Or drink all of the extra coffee? What if you die? Crowley and Father won't be too happy about that. Neither will King Duncan, or Lady Pauline, or Baron Arald, or _me_! Halt, please don't die, I'm sorry for being such an idiot, I'll ask before I bring in another pet, and-"

"Wait. What was the last thing you said?"

His apprentice was now teary. "You didn't let me finish."

"I don't mean what you _meant_ to say, I mean what you just _said_!"

Gil flinched. He's just spilled the beans..."I'll ask before I bring in another pet."

Halt thought. The alarm bell in the back of his head was ringing louder now. "Can you bring it here, please?"

Gil gulped and swiped at the tears in his eyes. His mentor was close to death, and he wanted to see a stupid fat cat. He went to his room and picked her up, bringing her to Halt's room. As soon as he walked through the door, the Ranger started sneezing.

"Gil," he said between sneezes. "You brought a pregnant cat in without asking me?"

"She's pregnant? I thought she was just fat...hey, do you still want me to get that physician?"

Halt narrowly avoided suffocating himself with the cat.

* * *

"Shut up Will!"

"But," Will drew in a breath, holding back his laughter. "You thought that Halt was dying."

"And?"

"You were _crying_ about it. He just had, like, a cold. And you thought he was dying. That's hilarious." And he started laughing again.

Gil restrained himself. He didn't have to kill the boy. He knew where he lived after all...

* * *

Longest chapter in the challenge! Also, the long awaited sequel to One Little Kitten! I hope you guys could understand the random time switches...


	24. No Time

24. No Time

"Papa?"

"Hang on Benny, I'm busy."

Benny pouted. Not that that did any good, because his father wasn't even looking at him. Papa was sitting at the table, hunched over some papers that Benny wasn't allowed to touch.

Well. Benny was just going to have to do something that'll make Papa pay attention.

* * *

"Papa, look!"

Gil didn't. He was too busy determining how big a threat a small group of thugs were.

"Ben, I can't just tell me about it, okay?"

The Ranger heard his son sigh. "I made a snowflake."

Gilan managed to smile half-heartedly. "That's great. Make some more and tell me about it later, alright?"

He didn't catch the disappointed look on his son's face.

* * *

Benny went to bed without being told to, which was a rarity. In fact, Gil was sure that it had never happened before. When he had finished his work, he went to his son's room and opened the door; Benny was sleeping.

Gil swallowed the lump in his throat, regretting ignoring his son all day. At some point, the four year old would be a teenager, and have no time for him.

_I'll make time_, the Ranger assured himself and his son silently. _I promise.

* * *

_Uh. Angsty fluff? Oh, since I never really explained the difference in the kids ages, Benny is three years older than Danny, and Aurora is around a year older than Benny.


	25. Trouble Lurking

25. Trouble Lurking

"Wrong. Do it again."

Gilan whined. He'd been practicing silent movement for two hours, and that's exactly how long he'd been doing things wrong.

"Keep whining and you'll be cleaning the fireplace again."

The Ranger apprentice gulped and started yet another attempt to walk silently.

* * *

Grumbling, Gil walked toward Redmont castle. Halt had said that he could have the rest of the day off, but the way he said it annoyed his apprentice.

"_Gilan, if you keep attempting whatever you're doing, the future of Arulen is at stake, so you can have the rest of the day off."_

And the girl he liked shot him down. All in all, today was shaping up to be a very bad day.

Which was proven when Gil got a very bad idea: he was going to take food from Master Chubb's kitchen.

* * *

Gil crept quietly into Chubb's kitchen. His plan wasn't to take anything new, but to take some leftover pastry of something. A plan that was quickly foiled when his robe caught on something and he pulled it free without looking, which caused a surprisingly large clatter.

And the fact that Chubb was actually in the kitchen made things worse. Because before Gil could recover, Chubb found him and latched on to his ear.

"Ow! Owowowowow, sorry, Master Chubb, I wasn't stealing anything, I just wanted to get some leftover cookies or something..."

The only responses he got were a ladle to the head and a kick to the ass on his way out.

* * *

Gil sighed, walking back towards Halt's cabin. He wasn't actually going inside until it was dark, so he would have to hide outside in the woods or something. And considering his luck today, Halt was probably going to find him and pick on him.

Just before he turned off of the main road, Gil felt a small tug on his cloak. He turned to see a little girl and her mother, who was looking at him apologetically.

"Sorry, she just saw you and wanted to meet you..."

Gil managed a smile. "It's alright." He looked down at the little girl. "Yes?"

She beamed up at him. "Thank you."

"For...what?"

"Being a Ranger and keeping me safe."

The apprentice Ranger smiled down at the little girl. You know, something told him that he would have no trouble with his training at all tomorrow...

* * *

Well...this had more cursing for some reason...


	26. Tears

26. Tears

Gilan couldn't find his apprentice. Depending on how he looked at it, the situation was good and bad. Since he couldn't find her, he was doing a good job in mentoring her, but that also meant he was really bad at being a Ranger. It was sort of a paradox, really.

He went to the stable, intending to see if she had taken her horse, Blossom, and if she did, he would saddle Blaze and look for the both of them.

As it turns out, he didn't need to. When he entered to stable, he saw Cam sitting on the wooden box where the normally kept the grain for the horses. And she was crying.

"Cam?" Gil said cautiously.

She looked up, her freckled cheeks streaked with tears.

"What's the matter?"

"Everything!" She wailed dramatically. "I'm messing everything up in my training, I don't have a family, I can't stop crying, I'm scaring the horses-"

_And me_, Gil thought.

"I feel fat and bloated, and _nobody loves me_!"

Her mentor gulped silently. He remembered his sister doing this every so often, usually whenever she got her...

_Ew..._

Gil suppressed a shudder. "Cam, it's okay..." He tried to put his arm around her.

"Don't touch me!"

Both of the Ranger mares whinnied quietly as Gil tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to calm the crying pubescent girl. At some point, Gil was sure that they were laughing at his inability to deal with a fifteen year old girl's tears.

* * *

New character! Meet Cameron, Gil's first apprentice. I am attempting to write a story about her, and it will hopefully be a collaboration. But I probably won't start it for a while, so don't hold your breath.

I hope I didn't gross anybody out...


	27. Foreign

17. Foreign

Halt swallowed hard. This was...new. And terrifying.

He'd just arrived in Arulen, and he was still trying to get his bearings. And it possible, a job, but nobody seemed willing to hire a small sixteen year old. If things kept going like this, he would probably have to sell his pony so that he could buy food, and he really didn't want to do that.

Suddenly, he slammed into somebody. Getting up first, he apologized profusely and pulled up the person he had knocked down; a teenager around his height with sandy coloured hair who scowled at him.

"Sorry, I-"

"Where that accent from? Hibernia?"

Halt gulped and tried to steady his nerves. He _really_ wasn't good with people. "Y-yeah. I just g-got here, and I was wondering if you knew where I could get a jo-"

His words where cut off suddenly when the teen's fist crashed into his face.

"Ow! What the hell!"

The sandy haired boy glared at him. Halt glared right back, squeezing his nose shut.

"You're Ferris, aren't you?"

"What? No!"

"...oh." Suddenly the boy looked apologetic. "Sorry about that...you must be Halt...wait, why are you even here?"

"My brother tried to kill me."

"Huh. Well that's a legitimate reason to leave. So you said that you were looking for a job?"

Halt nodded.

"Then c'mon. My father would probably hire you." The boy was now walking away, and Halt scrambled after him, leading the pony he rode from home on. "He doesn't mind scrawny foreigners. I'm Crowley, by the way."

"I'm Hal- hey, who're you calling scrawny? You're the same size as me!"

* * *

And there's more cursing...Anyway, I'm like to say thank you to the people who keep reading this because...I have over two _thousand _hits on this story. I was checking my story traffic in the library, and I almost started screaming. Thank you sooooooooo much!


	28. Sorrow

28. Sorrow

"_You're almost there love. Push!"_

Those were the words echoing in her mind, along with, _I'm sorry_.

Her head was spinning and everything still hurt, but not as much as her heart. Her beloved Daniel was dead. She couldn't live without him, even if their baby was fine. Maybe it was because he had his father's eyes.

The small woman looked up at the Ranger. "Take him Halt. Please."

Halt hesitated, as if he didn't really know what to do with a baby, but in the end he gently took the unnamed baby from his mother's arms.

"I'll make sure he's alright. I promise."

The baby's mother closed her eyes and sighed deeply, sorrow engulfing her heart.

* * *

This is what you call a ficlet. It's also what you call a spin-off. If you've read 'Where There's A Will', you know why this woman doesn't have a name. If you haven't, it's because she doesn't have one in the book. For anybody who doesn't remember where Will came from, this is about his mother dying after he was born. I kinda deviated from canon...


	29. Happiness

29. Happiness

"Ranger?" Even with the amount of pain he was in, Daniel was proud that his voice did waver.

The Ranger looked up at Daniel. "Halt," he said softly, something like sympathy showing in his eyes. Wait, this was Halt? God, he was little. Oh well. Daniel had learned not to judge people by their size.

"Halt then. I'm Daniel." And he smiled, which seemed to surprise the Ranger. Daniel shrugged it off. Why shouldn't he smile? He'd just met one of the most famous people in Arulen.

A sudden pain in his abdomen made him remember that he's just been fighting. Which reminded him of something else. "I need your help."

The look in Halt's eyes changed. Daniel knew what the Ranger was thinking, but he meant something completely different.

"My wife is expecting, and she's due any day now. Can you please, please check on her to make sure she's all right?"

Daniel felt arms then, lifting him carefully and laying him down on something. He glanced briefly at the medics, and then looked back at the Halt.

"Please?"

Halt nodded with conviction. "Yes. I will."

Daniel smiled and closed his eyes. Happiness was the last emotion he felt.

* * *

'Nother spin-off ficlet. This one about Will's father. If you've read the original story, you know that I've actually quoted what they said...


	30. Under The Rain

30. Under The Rain

Halt sighed, exasperated. This was getting tiresome. Gilan was always disappearing whenever he went out. And half the time, his chores weren't finished.

Well, this time, Halt wouldn't go out looking for him. Or finish his chores.

...except, Halt had gotten back over an hour ago. And it was getting dark. And starting to rain. Maybe something was wrong...

Halt made up his mind, and donning his cloak, he walked out of his cabin in search of his apprentice.

* * *

He found Gil in the dense forest where they practiced concealment and silent movement. He was sitting under a tree, soaked.

Since, normally, people didn't like being in sodden clothes, Halt started to think that something was wrong.

"Gil? Are you alright?"

The teen nodded. "Yeah, I just-"His voice cracked.

His mentor started to worry. "Gil?"

Gil gulped down a sob. "Sorry. It's just...I really miss my parents and my sister, and I know I'm writing letters, but I wanna see them, but I'm training here so I can't and mmmf."

The rest of the statement was impeded by Halt's palm over Gil's mouth.

"You know, you can actually go and visit them. Unlike BattleSchool, it's allowed." He moved his hand.

"Really?"

The Ranger arched an eyebrow. "Isn't that what I just said?"

Impulsively, Gil hugged his mentor. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome..."

This was something Halt had never thought that he'd be doing; hugging (well, being hugged by) a strangely ecstatic teenage boy.

* * *

Umm. Not really proud of this one... I mean, I like it, but I think it's lacking.


	31. Flowers

31. Flowers

Halt watched Will play in the Ward garden. It had been a year since he had dropped the boy off there, and he had definitely grown. He was walking too.

Will was unaware that Halt was watching him, since the Ranger was hidden in the woods a couple dozen meters away. The child was happily destroying flowers, yanking them from the ground and pulling all of petals off. He seemed to be having the time of his life.

Halt was just about to assure himself that Will was fine when a ward attendant came outside and saw what the one year old was doing.

"Will!"

The boy looked up and smiled, revealing six tiny teeth. "Hi."

The attendant's heart visibly melted. "Will," she said in a much softer voice, "That isn't what you do to flowers."

Will pulled up another flower and held it up to the attendant. "F'ower?"

Halt smirked. This kid wasn't even trying, and he had the attendant wrapped around his finger. He watched as the attendant lecture Will ineffectively for a few minutes, then go back inside. The boy promptly began ripping up flowers again.

The Ranger stepped out of the forest, intending to say hello to Will. He wasn't entirely sure, why, but what harm could it do?

Will looked up when Halt came close. He smiled again. "Hi." He held up a bunch of flowers that he hadn't ripped the petals off of yet. "F'owers?"

Despite himself, Halt's heart melted a little too. "Yes, flowers."

The one year old held the flowers a little higher. "F'owers."

"Oh." Halt took the flowers from Will and the boy smiled again. "Thank you."

"Welcome!"

Without even realizing it, Halt smiled back.

* * *

Halfway to his cabin, Halt wondered what on earth he was going to do with a bunch of flowers.

_Well_, he thought, _maybe they'll brighten the cabin_.

* * *

I've been meaning to write some toddler Willers fics. There might be more to come...


	32. Night

32. Night

"Halt," Will began. "Wouldn't it be a lot easier for Rangers to work at night?"

His mentor sighed inwardly. Trust his apprentice to come up with the most ridiculous questions.

"Yes, it would." He didn't elaborate any further. At least until Will asked, "Why?"

"Because easier isn't always better."

Will snorted. "You're just saying that because you like to see me suffer."

Halt put down the report he was reading and looked his apprentice straight in the eye. "Do you realize the perils of working at night? People wouldn't be able to see us, but we wouldn't be able to see them either, should we not be expecting them. Also, humans tend to be more paranoid in the dark, so there is actually a greater chance of being caught. Then there all of the animals that come out at night, and the horses would be more on edge. And in the dark, we wouldn't even be able to get a decent look at our target."

"...oh."

His tirade finished, Halt started reading his report again.

"Halt?"

"_Yes_?"

"...I don't want to go out at night anymore."

_Oh, Gorlog's teeth.

* * *

_This one was all Will. That might be why he lost this battle...


	33. Expectations

33. Expectations

Hiding behind a tree, Will assessed the situation. He soon came to the conclusion that his task was impossible. Halt and Gil expected him to go into enemy territory, retrieve the target, and return safely. While avoiding the highly trained enemy, who had the same, or greater, skill as he did. Including the apprentices. It was ridiculous.

Will took a deep breath a peeked around the tree. Target sighted. It seemed to be unguarded, but with this enemy, looks could be deceiving. After steeling himself, the Ranger dashed out and grabbed it, then turned towards safe territory, all while staying aware of his surroundings. More than once, he caught himself from falling.

_This would be a lot easier with Tug_, he reflected wryly.

Safe territory was in sight when he heard the enemy behind him. At this stage he knew that he would have to rely on his ears alone to avoid his enemy.

One meter away from the boundary, he felt somebody grab a handful of his cloak.

"So close, yet so far Will." A familiar voice said in his ear.

Will's former mentor appeared from behind a tree and scowled at the man behind Will.

"Damn it Crowley."

"Hey, I tagged him. So _he_ goes to jail, and _we_ get our flag back."

Dutifully, Will walked back into enemy territory.

Really, why did they always expect him to always succeed in getting the other teams' flag in Capture the Flag?

* * *

Come on, you were scared Will was in actual danger, right? ...right?


	34. Stars

34. Stars

"Cam, it's getting dark. Aren't you going to come in?"

The girl shrugged, watching the darkening sky intently. Gil sat down beside her.

"Looking for stars?"

Cam brushed some of her long black hair away from her face. "Yeah."

Her mentor leaned back on his hands, watching the stars appear one by one.

They sat in silence as the sky changed colour. Finally, when it was fully dark, Cam stood up.

"Can we go inside now? It's getting kind of cold..."

Gil stood up too. "Sure."

* * *

Later that night, just before Cam went to bed, she turned to her mentor.

"You know, when I was living with my parents, stars were kind of a safe signal. They couldn't find me when it was dark outside."

Then she went to bed, leaving Gil with a guilty feeling, even though there was nothing he could do about his apprentice's past.

* * *

Okay, since you've now read this, I guess I should tell you that Cam's parents were really abusive. She ran away from home when she was eight.


	35. Hold My Hand

35. Hold My Hand

"Aurora, do you-"

"I'm fine Mom!"

She was. _I'm eight_, Aurora thought. I _don't need to hold Mom's hand any more_.

Except...they weren't in Redmont. This place (Aurora forgot what it was called) was much bigger, and so much more crowded. It was loud too, but Aurora expected that.

Aurora had come with her mother on a diplomatic mission. It wasn't anything major, just delivering a small message, but Alyss thought that it would teach her daughter tact.

Aurora started when somebody bumped into her. She _really_ didn't like crowds...especially since she was in a place she didn't know.

"Mom?"

"Hmm?" Alyss was barely paying attention, since she was looking for somebody.

"Can you hold my hand?"

* * *

Uhh...not too proud of this. But it's kind of sentimental, isn't it?


	36. Precious Treasure

36. Precious Treasure

"Jenny, you have got to stop feeding him. He's starting to critique the food _I_ make."

"Gil, it's healthy for him to have an opinion."

"That may be true, but he's _five_."

They both looked towards the aforementioned five year old, who was out of earshot. He saw them looking and waved.

Jenny turned back to Gil. "He does not _critique_ the food you make."

Gil snorted. "He _does_. You should hear what he says; Papa, how come Jenny's food had more vegetables?"

Jenny laughed. "He does not. Kids don't like vegetables."

"_He_ does. Only when you make them. It's like a treat or something."

Jenny smiled, watching Benny play. "He must be a treasure."

Gil nodded. _Yup. Just as much of a treasure as you_.

* * *

Once again, I have a Jenny fic with a cheesy ending. I like her though...I also like the Gil/Jenny pairing. He actually isn't 10+ years older than her, because he was in his early twenties in the first book.


	37. Eyes

37. Eyes

"Grandpa Halt, how come my eyes are brown and Danny's eyes are gray?"

"Because your parent's eyes are those colours."

"How come their eyes are that colour?" This time it was Danny who asked.

"Because they got it from their parents, who got it from their parents, and so on and so forth."

"Oh. Then, what about the people who didn't have any parents?" Asked Aurora.

Halt stifled a sigh. "When the world was new, the first people all had the same eye colour, black. When they spread out and moved to other places, their eyes changed according to the places; in the mountains, their eyes became blue, because they were close to the sky. The people in the valleys eyes became green, because of all of the grass. The eyes of the people by the stormy seas became gray, and the eyes of those in the dessert became brown. As people began to travel, they stayed in other lands, which is why people had different eyes colours now."

"Oh." And they started playing again.

Halt began to work again.

"Grandpa Halt?"

"...yeah?"

"Why is the sky blue?"

Halt narrowly avoided slamming his head on his table.

* * *

Done because all of the other stories I thought of with this theme were creepy...and Halt babysitting is funny and cute. And he did come up with an answer to the last question. It was 'Because blue is the lightest colour.'


	38. Abandoned

38. Abandoned

The gray horse looked around desperately. Where was everybody? They were here when he went to sleep...

He limped around in the mist, searching for the people who he had been with last. Was that why they left him? Because he was limping? He'd get better, it was just a sprain. That was no reason to abandon him.

Suddenly, the horse sensed somebody somewhere behind him, and he whirled around walked as quickly as he could towards them. When he reached the person, however, he was disappointed. He didn't know this person...eh. He was here, wasn't he? And the man was patting him, saying...something. It was in a language he didn't understand, but that was okay. The tone was friendly.

* * *

This horse came out of nowhere. And there was something wrong with its leg too, but it was probably just a sprain. Halt kept petting the horse, talking to it quietly in Arulen.

"You look a lot like those horses I bought from the Temujai. I wonder if you're from the same stock..."

The horse whinnied in response. Halt turned and started to walk back to his camp. After a few paces, he realized the horse wasn't following him. He turned, and looked at the horse, who was giving him the most forlorn look he'd ever seen.

"Come here, boy." The horse didn't come, and Halt got the feeling that it didn't understand him. He tried in a different language; Gallic. The horse's ears perked up and he limped towards Halt.

"Ah. That's where you're from."

The horse pushed his nose against Halt's cheek and snorted softly into his ear. The Ranger found himself, strangely enough, getting attached to the creature. So much so that he said in response,

"Don't worry, I won't abandon you."

* * *

How Halt got his horse. Poor Abelard, getting abandoned by crappy owners. As we all know, Halt treats him waaay better.


	39. Dreams

39. Dreams

_You will fall..._

Ferris bolted upright, waking in a cold sweat. This wasn't new; he'd been having this dream and hearing that voice within them for weeks now. They started a bit after he'd had a visit from Tennyson, a 'prophet'. And they always involved the times he tried to kill his brother...

The Hibernian king shook his head, chasing those thoughts away. It didn't matter how he got in power. And anyway, it's not like Halt wanted to rule. He'd run away. He didn't fight for it. Ferris reflected on how it would've been better to eliminate him completely, but in this case, with his rule so precarious, he'd have to take what he could get.

Still...the voice from his dreams echoed through his head, reminding him to keep a watch out for those who sought to dethrone him.

It couldn't be Halt. He was never coming back.

And besides, dreams didn't prove a thing.

* * *

Ah, guilt is a great plot point. Especially when it's one of your least favourite characters.

Oh, I have news! I now have a Formspring, so if you have any questions (about anything, actually), go to my profile and click on the 'Answer Page' link.


	40. Rated

40. Rated

Gil squirmed, prompting his mentor to tell him to be still. Be _still_? How on earth was he supposed be still? It was one of the most important moments of his life, and Halt and Crowley judging him right in front of him didn't help.

The tall teen shifted from foot to foot. "Um, Halt..."

His mentor looked up.

"How...how much longer is this going to take?"

Crowley answered in a typical Ranger manner. "As long as it's supposed to." He tapped his lip with his pen, carefully examining the pieces of paper if front of him. The pieces of paper that determined the future of Gil's Ranger career. This was his first assessment, and he wasn't entirely sure how well he'd done or what would happen if he'd done badly.

What if he did badly? Would Halt kick him out? Would Crowley make Halt kick him out? He didn't want to go back to BattleSchool, he hated it there. It was boring and unnecessarily cruel. And he got picked on a lot, but he didn't tell his father that.

The head Ranger's voice cut through Gil's depressing thoughts.

"Nine point eight out of ten, Gil. You would've scored higher, but you made a few simple mistakes."

"And you hesitated too long and talk too much."

Despite his happiness, Gil's shoulders slumped slightly. Trust Halt to ruin a good rating.

* * *

Uh. Not my favourite, but I think the others aren't that great either...and I need to stop using ellipses.


	41. Teamwork

41. Teamwork

"Papa?"

Gilan looked down, straight into his son's blue eyes. First mistake.

"Yes Benny?"

"Can me, 'Rora and Danny go play by the castle?"

Gil winced inwardly. He didn't really like it when his son played there, for it was too close to BattleSchool for his liking...

But...the way Benny was looking at him...

"Uncle Will and Aunt Alyss said that 'Rora and Danny could go..."

Gil caved.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another Ranger cottage, two small children got their parents to let them play in the same place with the same amount of effort.

* * *

Later that day, Will and Gilan met by Redmont castle with their children.

As they went off, Will said, "So you got tricked into this too, huh?"

Gil shrugged. "Shows ingenuity. And teamwork...and...wait, do you think they actually planned this?"

Both Rangers looked towards their children, who waved as if they were expecting just that.

"You know, something tells me that parenting is going to be really hard when they're teenagers..."

* * *

Anybody wanna tell me what you think they'll be like when they're teenagers?


	42. Standing Still

42. Standing Still

There were pins very, _very_ close to Danny's skin. He ached to move, just a little, but that would mean getting pricked, which he would not enjoy. At all.

His mother and sister were at the other end of the room, looking at a book. He knew that they were looking at clothes designs, and yet he didn't know why. Alright, he knew _why_, he just didn't understand why it was so important. He didn't even want to go to this stupid function anyway. He knew that Daddy didn't want to go either, but that wasn't going to stop him.

The six year old sighed and slumped slightly, and instantly, a pin pricked him. Danny pressed his lips together tightly, holding in the yelp that was perched on his tongue.

This function had better be worth standing still...

* * *

Painfully short, but I hope you like it.


	43. Dying

43. Dying

Danny's head throbbed. Everything was so hot and sticky, and he was so desperately thirsty. He sniffled. He was going to die here, alone and unloved and sweaty and thirsty and sweltering. Daddy and Mommy were going to be upset, and Aurora was going to miss him desperately. And Benny wouldn't have anybody to play with. And Blackie...

He sat up slightly as his door opened, and bright light flooded through the crack it revealed, hurting his eyes, which in turn made his head throb more. Steps, amplified by his sickness, approached his bed. Something wonderfully cool and wet was pressed to his forehead and a glass of water was pressed to his lips. He finished it in record time, feeling that his agonized suffering, while not gone, was alleviated. With a steady source of coolness seeping into his overheated body, he drifted into a dead sleep.

* * *

"So how is he?"

Will rolled his eyes. "He still has a fever. But if he was talking, you'd think that he was dying."

Alyss smiled. "Well, it _is_ a constant source of entertainment."

The Ranger sighed, placing the glass on the counter. "That's only because you aren't here as often as I am..."

* * *

Benny is _very _dramatic, just in case you haven't picked up on that yet. He's so fun to write, because I get to exaggerate everything about him.


	44. Two Roads

Semi-spoiler in this one. Kinda.

* * *

44. Two Roads

"So, Halt," Crowley sat down next to his friend's bed with what Halt considered to be a ridiculously cheery smile. "How's the head?"

The new Ranger's voice was very calm. "You know how much a wild boar weighs, right?"

His best friend nodded.

"Well, right at this particular moment, it feels like one is dancing on my skull. I'd be yelling at you right now if it didn't hurt half as much as it does right now."

"Hm. Anyhow, what do you want to do now?" Crowley said with irritating nonchalance.

Halt clenched his jaw in frustration, then immediately wished that he hadn't, as a new plume of pain shot through his skull.

"Sleep. Or hurt you. Or _die_."

Crowley sighed at his friend. "I meant about the Rangers, Halt. We can recruit more people and renew this old legend and make it a national organization, or we can quit while we're ahead."

"After all this work, and this head injury, I'd rather not let all of it go to waste."

The sandy haired Ranger stood. "Think about it Halt. Think hard." After placing something on the table beside Halt's bed, he left the room.

With nothing else to do, and nobody to complain to, Halt though about the possible future. Did he want to continue the Rangers? It would be a lot of work, maintaining the legend of mystery, and in some cases, fear. Rangers were considered allies to Arulen, but some considered them to be sorcerers, and likely to act dangerously on their own accord. Did Halt really want that as his future? To be feared and mistrusted, and yet entirely relied upon in times of immense crisis? To make few close, important connections, but no personal ones? Discounting Crowley, of course.

Halt sighed and gingerly rubbed his forehead. He could always go back to Hibernia; his best friend has made that clear. His brother would be in power now, but since trust had never been Ferris's strong suit, it would be pretty easy to take the throne. And bring order to whatever Ferris had ruined, which was likely to be a lot.

_No_, Halt decided. He was tired of cleaning up his brother's messes. And besides, what better way to start a new life than to reawaken a legend that was so deeply rooted in a country's history? He'd do himself and a nation some good, starting something important from the ground up, without any advantages at all.

He turned to see what Crowley had put on his bedside table, eyes widening when he saw the painkillers and the glass of water. He could imagine the man laughing himself sick, since Crowley knew Halt well enough to know that he'd think about what Crowley has mentioned before checking the table.

Even before Halt opened his mouth, he knew that this was going to hurt quite a bit.

"WHAT THE _HELL_, CROWLEY!"

The pain in Halt's head started swelling when he stated his statement, and when he was finished, he promptly passed out because of it.

* * *

This is longer than quite a few ficlets that I've written. I really like it, too. Maybe it's because of Crowley's cruel sense of humour...


	45. Illusion

54. Illusion

"Halt?"

Inwardly the Ranger cringed, knowing that his apprentice would ask something that was ridiculous, yet impossible to answer.

"Cam said that somebody once told her that the only thing that exists is ourselves and everything else is all an illusion that we make up. Is...is it true?"

Halt almost laughed. His apprentice, the poor boy, looked terrified.

"Why, exactly, is it bothering you so much?"

"Because then I'd have made everything up...and nothing exists...and it's just me...and...its creepy!"

"Will if you make everything up, how do you learn new things?"

"I asked Cam that, and she said that learning things was just a revelation of something that I already knew."

Inwardly, Halt face-palmed. "Will, close your eyes."

His apprentice obeyed. Halt promptly smacked him in the head.

"Ow!"

"Were you anticipating that?"

"No..."

"Well, that's proof that everything isn't an illusion. You can learn new things, and be surprises. The only illusions are what other people make up."

Impulsively, Will hugged his mentor, completely relieved. "So you're real and I didn't make you up!"

"Will."

"Yeah?"

"Get off, get out, and chop some firewood."

Will groaned. At times like this, he wished everything was an illusion. He could change things he didn't like...

* * *

I actually read about this in a book, but I forgot what it was called. I thought it was ridiculous, but hey, to each their own.


	46. Family

46. Family

An acorn dropped on Will's head. He looked up, knowing exactly who to blame. But, however hard he tried, he couldn't see her. As he was looking, another acorn dropped on him, this time, hitting him on the forehead.

"Ow! Cam, _stop_ it."

A snicker drifted down, and suddenly, a freckled face appeared in the canopy. After a bit of rustling, the female Ranger apprentice dropped to the ground in front of Will.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"To bother you."

Will rolled his eyes. He started to walk back to Halt's cabin and Cam fell into step with him.

"Hey...does Halt have a family?"

Will stopped dead. _Did_ he? Whenever he thought of Halt, all that came to mind was the legends, nothing before them.

"I mean, I know that he existed before the whole Ranger Corps reformed, but where did he come from before that? Will?"

Cam turned towards the boy, who still stood frozen, staring into space.

"Uh, are you okay?" She touched Will's shoulder, but he didn't move.

A million thoughts were running through Will's head. He knew that Halt was from Hibernia, but that was it.

"Maybe," he started abruptly, making Cam flinch. "He ran away from home or something."

Cam smirked, hiding her racing heart. She thought she had broken Will, or something. "Oh, yeah, because his evil twin tried to kill him."

Both apprentices started laughing at the absurdity. In their minds, Halt was infallible and undefeated, ever since he was born.

* * *

*snicker* They're in for a surprise...


	47. Creation

47. Creation

It's very rare for Halt to be taken by surprise. On this occasion, his apprentice was the one to do it. After pouring a cup of coffee, Halt turned to go back to his reports and jumped from the surprise of seeing his apprentice right behind him. Will smiled half-heartedly.

"Gotcha."

"Will, why are you awake?"

The apprentice Ranger sat down at the table, rubbing his eyes. "I couldn't sleep. I kept having this nightmare about the Stone Flutes."

Halt sat across from his apprentice, wincing. "Honestly, I wonder why that was created."

Will smirked. "To give you something unsolvable to wonder about?"

Halt gave Will an aggrieved look. "Will, I try not to think about the Stone Flutes more than I have to."

The teen grinned widely. "Which proves my point exactly."

"Good for you. Remember to chop a chord of firewood at sunrise tomorrow."

"...crap."

* * *

Uh. I wasn't sure how to approach this theme. I hope you like it!


	48. Childhood

48. Childhood

"Will, I'm going to be inside here for a minute, so stay here, alright?"

The six year old nodded. He didn't really like staying still, but he was in a place he didn't know well, and he didn't want to get lost.

"Alright."

The attendant smiled and stepped inside the fabric shop, leaving Will alone in the market.

Not far away, but still out of sight, Halt noticed the boy. As he was trying to figure out how to indirectly protect Will from anything that could hurt him, a dog wandered by Will and nudged him. After jumping, Will smiled and started petting it.

However, even with Will occupied, Halt didn't relax until the Ward attendant came back out.

As he was leaving, Halt rolled his eyes, thinking about how foolish other people's childhoods tending to make others.

* * *

I'm not sure what this even means...


	49. Stripes

49. Stripes

As Halt entered his bedroom, he instantly felt that something was off. He looked around suspiciously, his hand falling to his double knife scabbard. As far as he could see, nothing had been touched, but he couldn't be sure. He'd been distracted ever since Will had become a Ranger two weeks ago. There wasn't anybody to, for lack a better phrase, order around. Nobody to sneak up on, because Pauline had made it abundantly clear that she'd hurt him if he tried, and nobody to fool. Well, there was Horace, but Halt didn't feel like seeking him out.

In short, he missed that talkative little twerp.

Sighing, Halt opened his closet to put away his cloak, but froze, his hand in midair.

His spare cloak had been painted orange with black stripes. Closer inspection revealed a note pinned inside.

_Dear former mentor Halt,_

_Good luck changing your stripes back to the lone legendary Ranger._

_Will Treaty_

Despite is cloak being vandalized, Halt grinned. This gave him the perfect opportunity to see the Ranger Corps' newest Ranger...

* * *

*snicker* This is proof that Halt has feelings.


	50. Breaking The Rules

50. Breaking The Rules

Gil was hiding, deep in the forest far, far away from BattleSchool. This was breaking the rules, of course, but Gil couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to go home. He didn't care if was trained by MacNeil, or that his father was the Battlemaster back home. His body ached and people picked on him because he was so skinny. He'd learned not to hit back, since the few times he'd done so had gotten him into trouble.

Gil sniffled slightly, and then rubbed his eyes furiously. He was definitely _not_ going to _cry_. They would _love_ it if he cried.

Gil made up his mind: he was going to go home, regardless of the stupid BattleSchool rules. He'd be something much, much better. Like...a Ranger or something. Somebody the warriors couldn't do without.

Later that night, as he was sneaking inside to get his stuff, Gil pondered what to say to his father. He shrugged. It didn't matter. He'd show them, that size didn't matter when it came to protecting one's country.

Gil smirked. He's prove that rules weren't so important either...

* * *

Here's a little Gil history. Also, this is theme #50. Holy crap...I got this far...


	51. Sport

51. Sport

Will woke, gasping and in cold sweat. He'd just had another nightmare about the boar hunt, the event that had begun his legendary status.

He just didn't understand it. Why would people willingly put themselves and others in unnecessary danger like that? He's almost been killed by that overgrown pig anyway. He and Halt could've just hunted and killed the stupid thing quietly, but all of those knights wanted to make a big deal of it, just for bragging rights.

The teen shivered, remembering the paralyzing fear as the boar got closer and closer to him...

Will got out of bed, hoping to shake off the chill the memory had left. Getting the feeling that he wouldn't fall asleep, he decided to do that geography Halt had assigned him.

Really, the things that people did for sport would never cease to mystify and terrify him.

* * *

And here's another Will flashback. And some of my views too. I think hunting animals needlessly is wrong. And further than a plot point, I think that the way the boar hunt was conducted made no sense, considering Halt killed the freaking thing with his bow.


	52. Deep In Thought

52. Deep In Thought

"Crowley?"

Once again, Halt's best friend ignored him. He sighed, irritated. Crowley had been doing this all day. The thing that infuriated Halt the most was that Crowley wasn't even doing anything. He was supposed to be helping Halt at his father's stables, but he was just sitting on the pile of hay bales and staring out of the window.

After fifteen more minutes, Halt couldn't take it any longer. He pushed at the hay bale that his best friend was sitting on, making him topple off with a yelp.

"Ow!" The sandy haired seventeen year old glared at Halt. Halt smirked down at him.

"We're supposed to be _working_. What the heck were you doing anyway?"

"I was _thinking_ Halt."

"About what? Excuses to get out of working?"

"...Maybe."

Halt laughed, pulling his best friend up. "I don't blame you for being so deep in thought. Your father's bull crap detector it pretty effective."

Suddenly, a voice bellowed from another room, making both teens flinch. "Get back to work, you two!"

Halt smiled evilly at Crowley. "I was sir, but Crowley is slacking off!"

"Send him in here!"

On his way to his father's office, Crowley glared daggers at Halt. His father wasn't really a bad guy, he just like to get work done and believed that everybody had to do their share. If you didn't, however...you got more that your share. And not just of work...

* * *

When all else fails, write about Halt and Crowley. They make everything good :3


	53. Keeping A Secret

53. Keeping A Secret

Danny had a problem. Aurora's birthday was tomorrow, and she was going to have a party. A party that she didn't know about.

He'd been keeping this a secret all week, since his job was to keep Aurora distracted. And he'd been really successful too, right up until tonight. Tonight, Aurora had gone to bed crying.

Earlier that day, Aurora and Danny had been playing by the edge of the woods when a girl neither of them really liked came up to them. She then proceeded to talk, which, really, just made her more despicable.

"Your father is the Ranger, right?"

Aurora had nodded warily, not entirely sure where this was heading.

"You know, he got his mentor exiled once." The girl smiled, expecting Aurora to burst into tears.

Five minutes later, it was the girl who was crying.

However, Aurora's bad luck didn't stop there. Throughout the day, she and her brother were chased by a dog, splattered with mud by a passing cart, and picked on by at least three more kids.

Danny looked over at his sister, thinking about all of the times he'd almost told her about her party today, just to cheer her up.

Closing his eyes, he hoped that keeping that secret was worth it.

* * *

Was supposed to be fluffy, and turned out kind of angsty. See kids, this is what happens when you make almost nine-year-olds cry.


	54. Tower

54. Tower

Aurora had mixed feelings about heights. While she liked climbing, she tended to get stuck whenever she looked down and saw how high she was.

At the moment, she was clinging to a tree with her eyes shut, hoping and praying that Daddy would come and save her. She couldn't climb back down herself. What if she fell?

Luckily, Daddy was close by. When he saw her in the tree he got her down.

"Aurora, if you're so afraid of heights, why on earth do you keep climbing?"

To this, the eight year old shrugged and ran off to play with her brother.

Will sighed, shaking his head. Aurora reminded him of Alyss when she was in the tower. Completely fearless, just as long as she didn't look down.

* * *

See? I kind of complemented Alyss. I was going to totally feature Alyss in this one, but it didn't work...I'm not sure how I feel about that...


	55. Waiting

55. Waiting

Will sighed heavily, slumping against the wall. His posture, he knew, was deplorable, but at this point, he didn't care. He was just so damn _bored_. There was absolutely _nothing_ to do.

This was the first time that Halt had left him in the cabin all by himself for more than a day. Halt had given Will a list of things to do, but surprisingly enough, he'd completed everything.

And not that Will liked to admit it, but being by himself kind of freaked him out. It reminded him of things he'd much rather forget...

Will stood up straight, shaking away the bad memories. He assured himself that Halt would definitely come back, so all he had to do was wait.

The apprentice Ranger smiled to himself. Maybe if he was lucky, he could actually sneak up on Halt.

* * *

Will, you'll never be able to sneak up on Halt.


	56. Danger Ahead

56. Danger Ahead

Tug whinnied quietly when Will came into the stables. Will smiled softly and patted the shaggy pony.

"Hullo Tug." The horse nudged Will's hand with his nose, snorting. The Ranger apprentice patted the horse once more, then stepped away to get his feed. As the horse ate, Will brushed him carefully, thinking about all of the time he'd spent with his horse. It had been two years since he'd acquired Tug from Old Bob, and they've been inseparable ever since.

...except for that Skandia incident, but, really, there was nothing that could be done about that one.

Tug nudged Will's arm, startling him. The apprentice Ranger realized that he'd stopped brushing his horse as he was thinking back.

"Oh goodness, Tug, I'm _ever_ so sorry that I stopped brushing you for about fifteen seconds. I'll be sure to never let it happen again."

The horse looked his master straight in the eye. _You'd_ _better_.

Will laughed, scratching Tug's ears. Even though his horse actually irritated him at times, Will knew that he could always rely on that seemingly sarcastic horse to look for danger ahead.

* * *

I just didn't feel like writing any angst. You'll see why in next chapter...


	57. Sacrifice

57. Sacrifice

Arrow spun around, snorting. He didn't realize the lion was _that_ close. And the human - Will – couldn't help him. In fact, Will couldn't do anything; it was only because he was breathing that Arrow knew that he was alive.

The lion prowled closer, growling softly. It sensed Will's weakness, his inability to even detect it, let alone fight it off. Arrow whinnied, hoping to get the lion's attention, with some success; the cat glanced at him, but dismissed the horse as too hard to fight.

He was almost right.

Suddenly, Arrow ran at the lion, surprising it into running a short distance away. Knowing that it was too hungry to quit, the horse paced in front of Will, guarding him. The lion watched, fangs bared and muscles tense. Both animals knew the delicate balance. Arrow knew that if the lion snuck around him Will would die. The lion knew that if he couldn't sneak around the horse, he wouldn't get his supper...and he'd get a good kicking in return.

Arrow made one last decision: he ran at the lion, rearing, meaning to scare him. But at the last second, he slipped, made clumsy by the fabric Will had put on his feet. The lion, at last, saw his opening, leaping onto the brave horse.

The next morning, Will saw the sacrifice the horse had made to save him.

* * *

This is why. I didn't think that I could write anything more about Daniel, so I wrote about poor Arrow who gave his life to save poor dehydrated little Willers. Okay, he was around twenty at the time, but still! He'll always be Willers :3


	58. Kick In The Head

58. Kick In the Head

Gilan glared at the bay horse in front of him. He _hated_ the stupid creature. He hated its shifty little feet and its twitchy little ears and its stupidly strong little body, and most of all, he hated its eyes. They were always on him, and they looked like they knew something he didn't. Why did he need a horse anyway?

Gil turned to his mentor. "No."

Halt arched an eyebrow, a gesture already familiar to the teen. "And why do you say that, exactly?"

"Horses hate me. They never listen to me, and they always find some way to hurt me."

The Ranger rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm going to leave you two until you make some sort of peace. Good luck. Oh, and Gil? The code words are _Brown_ _Eyes_."

Gil snorted to himself after his mentor went inside. Code words? For what, going back in? Some instinct told the apprentice that Halt wouldn't let him inside unless he rode the horse, so he managed to convince himself to actually ride the little beast.

A few minutes later, the bay mare, Blaze, convinced Gil that he couldn't. As he picked himself for the third time, Gil wondered what on earth Halt was talking about when he said that the code words were _Brown_ _Eyes_.

Sighing, the blonde teen decided to at least attempt to get in Blaze's good graces. Unfortunately, the mare was now extremely wary of Gil, and as he approached, she tried to kick him. She missed his head by mere centimetres.

Halt, watching from inside the cabin, breathed a shaky sigh of relief. You know, maybe he'd go and tell Gil what the code words were for...

* * *

...Didn't have the heart to actually make Blaze kick Gil in the head...


	59. No Way Out

59. No Way Out

Horace was stuck. The doors on the cupboard weren't opening, and nobody was coming to get him.

He had been playing hide and seek with the ward kids and some others, and Will had been winning. He won when he was hiding, and he won when he was seeking. It wasn't _fair_.

So Horace set out to be better. Which was why he was in his current predicament, trapped in a cupboard.

The six year old squirmed in the small darkened space. What if nobody can to get him? He might be stuck in that small, dark place forever.

It was at that point that Horace started to scream.

* * *

Believe it or not, I'm actually really tired of writing angst fics, and I'm kind of running low on inspiration.


	60. Rejection

60. Rejection

"You know Halt, you can go and _talk_ to her. It's allowed in regular society."

The teen blushed. "Shut up Crowley."

Crowley, just as Halt expected, didn't shut up. "What's the matter? Are you scared?"

There was a slight pause before Halt growled out "No."

That pause was all Crowley needed. He smiled slowly. "Need some help Halt?" And before Halt could respond, Crowley began to walk towards the tall blonde that Halt had been watching.

Halfway there, however, Halt tackled Crowley, pinning him down.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Helping. Don't you want to talk to her?" Meaning the girl.

"...no..."

Crowley sighed, like he was doing Halt a giant favour. "Fine."

They walked away, both knowing that the only thing keeping Halt from talking to that girl was fear of rejection.

* * *

In case you were wondering, the blonde was Pauline. And she didn't notice them at all XD Maybe I'll write some more on teenage Halt, Crowley and Pauline.


	61. Fairy Tale

61. Fairy Tale

"Yes Will?"

For a second, Will was stunned. "I didn't even say anything!"

Halt didn't even look up. "You were about to ask something, weren't you?"

"...maybe."

For a moment, there was silence. Then Will couldn't take it any longer.

"Halt, is there actually any point to fairy tales?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because they're unrealistic."

"...Halt, most of the stories about Rangers are unrealistic, but there's a point to them."

Halt sighed inwardly. Why, exactly, was this so very important to his apprentice?

"The legends about Rangers serve a purpose. Fairy tales are completely useless, and they give young children a bad example of something to aspire to."

Halt looked up. Will was giving him a slightly annoyed look.

"Do you have a smart-alecky answer for everything?"

Halt smirked. "Yes."

* * *

This is what happens when I run out of inspiration...


	62. Magic

62. Magic

"Papa?"

"Yes Benny?"

"Are Rangers actually magical?"

Gil thought carefully. "Yes."

Benny's blue eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"Yup. But we only use magic on bad people."

Benny squirmed. He was actually supposed to be in bed, but maybe if he kept talking to Papa, he wouldn't have to go to sleep for a while.

"What happens to the bad people?"

"Oh, a multitude of things. Sometimes they disappear; sometimes they get sealed up in trees, but mostly, they get sent to a very, _very_ bad place."

"Where's that?" Benny asked breathlessly.

"Bed." Gil said, lowering his voice to sound sinister.

Benny glared at his father. "That wasn't fair!"

The Ranger chuckled. "Benny, you know that you can't change my mind at bedtime."

* * *

*snicker* Even that kid can't get out of bedtime.


	63. Do Not Disturb

63. Do Not Disturb

Crowley and Halt stood outside of the office door. The sandy-haired teen turned to his friend and patted his shoulder.

"Halt, we've been friends for a long time..."

The former prince rolled his eyes. "No. We haven't. And no amount of begging, or 'persuasion', as you call it, is going to convince me to go in and ask for our salaries."

Crowley slumped. "Don't you want to get paid?"

"Yes, I do. But if your father isn't paying us on time, there has to be a good explanation for it."

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Meaning, you're afraid of him."

"...slightly."

Halt's best friend snorted. "Well, I don't know about you, but I want to be paid today."

He opened the door and strode in, closing it behind him. Approximately ten seconds later, Halt heard a thump, and Crowley walked out, holding his bleeding nose.

"He says he's not to be disturbed today..."

"I'll bet."

* * *

Just so you all know, Crowley's father isn't abusive, he's just...a disciplinarian. Did that make sense?

And I know that these are late! I didn't mean for them to be, but I couldn't sign in last night...sorry!


	64. Multitasking

64. Multitasking

Gil, Halt reflected, was not good at multitasking. One small thing, and the boy was completely distracted.

As was proven earlier that day, during archery training.

"Alright, Gil, remember to-"

"Oh my god, Halt, did you see that!"

The Ranger gave his apprentice a strange look. "See what?"

Gil shrugged. "The thing. That blew past."

Halt sighed. "You mean to tell me that you interrupted me because you saw a _leaf_ blow past?"

"It wasn't a leaf Halt. It was bigger and shinier and it was so very cool! I'm going to look for it!"

With that, Gil ran past Halt into the forest. It took Halt an hour and a half to find the hyper teenager, and another half hour to persuade him to come home. After they'd gotten home, Halt had given Gil enough chores to last a few hours. Except...

"Holy crap! Halt, you _have_ to come see this!"

Gil was not good at multitasking. Halt sighed heavily, thinking of all the trouble this boy was going to be for the next few years.

* * *

Gil...has focus problems, apparently. This was based on EmoPaperclip-xD's 100 Theme's Challenge entry, Shiny (#13). You can find it in her story, Of Waffles and Kleptomaniacs (seriously, read it, it's hilarious).


	65. Horror

65. Horror

"No."

"Gil, come on. How often do I take you to something that isn't training related?"

The blonde teen poked his head out from under his bed. "That means it's a trap. A deadly dangerous trap which I am unlikely to survive or live down. I. Am. Not. Going."

And he hid back under his bed.

Grumbling something about ungrateful apprentices, Halt stalked out of Gil's room. When he came back in, he was holding a small paper bag. Kneeling close to the bed, Halt shook the bag, making the contents rattle. An arm extended from beneath the bed, but Halt pulled the bag away before Gil could grab it.

"Gil, if you come with me and do one thing, I'll give you the candy."

Gil crawled out from under the bed, glaring at Halt with such ferocity that it made the Ranger doubt that this was a good idea after all.

* * *

"Oh for heaven's sake Gil, just _pick_ something."

The teen avoided glaring at his mentor again. The last time he'd done that, Halt had threatened something much worse than going to this stupid autumn fair; no candy for a month. On an impulse, he pointed to a corn maze.

Halt shrugged. "Fine. It's your choice."

_Just_ _barely_, Gil snorted inwardly.

* * *

Gil was in a bad mood to begin with, so getting lost in a maze made of vegetable stalks didn't help much. In fact, the maze only further soured his attitude.

The last straw was when that idiot decided to jump out to scare him...

* * *

Another EmoPaperclip-xD inspired fic. Based on her entry for Theme 14, Labyrinth. It's really short, but soooo funny. I pretty much just wrote what I though came before it :3


	66. Traps

66. Traps

Will had never really liked bear traps.

In short, they scared him. They were meant to kill _bears_. Imagine what they could do to animals that they _weren't_ meant for.

The sixteen year old shuddered, giving away his position, which prompted his mentor to berate him. Extensively.

"Will, what _exactly_ where you thinking about that made you lose focus?"

"Bear traps."

"...bear traps?"

"Yeah. I mean, they're gigantic and chompy and violent. Imagine if some other animal that wasn't a bear got trapped in one."

To his folly, Halt imagined it. And grimaced. "Ew..."

"Exactly. I mean, who even invented those? We don't need bear traps. All we have to do is avoid the things, and we'll be fine. We don't have to set gigantic jawed traps to kill them, or worse, aggravate them to make them even angrier."

"Will, how exactly did you come up with this?"

Will blushed. "My foot got caught in a rabbit snare."

To his credit, Halt didn't laugh. To his discredit, the only reason he didn't laugh was to uphold his reputation.

* * *

This one was all Will, mainly because I felt like writing some apprentice Willers fics where he's all curious and naive. Hope you like this. I did :3


	67. Playing The Melody

67. Playing The Melody

Will cursed under his breath. For the life of him, he couldn't get this blasted song right. And Halt was no help, since he always gave Will a long-suffering look whenever he pulled out his mandola to practice.

Trying and screwing the melody up _again_, Will sighed, rubbing his forehead. There was no way he was going to get this...

Five minutes later, Halt came outside (where Will had moved to avoid the complaining) and lectured his apprentice about work ethic and not quitting for about twenty minutes. By the time the Ranger was finished and had gone back inside, Will was fuming.

Out of the blue, song lyrics came to mind. Almost unconsciously, Will started to play the tune he'd been trying to all morning, softly singing the lyrics as they came to him.

"_Greybeard Halt is a friend of mine_

_He lives on Redmont hill_

_Greybeard Halt never took a bath_

_And they say He never will!_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_Fare thee well, I say_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_I'll see you on your way_

_Greybeard Halt, he lives with goats_

_That's what I've heard tell _

_He hasn't changed his socks for years_

_But the goats doesn't mind the smell!_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_Fare thee well, I say_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_I'll see you on your way_

_Greybeard Halt is a fighting man_

_I've heard common talk_

_That Greybeard Halt, he cuts his hair_

_With a carving knife and fork!_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_Fare thee well, I say_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_I'll see you on your way_."

Will grinned, proud that he'd actually gotten the tune, time, and melody correct. The Ranger behind him, however…

* * *

I'm sure you can imagine the rest. Including the 'sleeping in a tree' part. And to all of you fans who don't know the whole song, you're welcome :3


	68. Hero

68. Hero

Halt looked at his apprentice's sleeping face. He'd had a hard day, the poor boy. He'd almost gotten killed, after all.

Halt thought back, reflecting on Will's bravery. He'd put his life in jeopardy to save the life of a boy he'd had a fight with a few days prior. That took bravery. And chivalry, Halt reflected wryly. This boy had the makings of a hero. He was brave and selfless, but thankfully, he had a brain. He thought things through rationally, and then acted. And for that, Halt was grateful.

And proud, he thought as he was leaving the room.

He'd never tell Will that, though. Will would have to figure that out for himself.

* * *

Aw. I hope. I wasn't sure what to put for this.


	69. Annoyance

69. Annoyance

"Halt, what does this mean?"

The Ranger bit back an irritated sigh. Gil had been bothering him all day. And now he was reading...a cookbook, for some reason.

"Halt?" Gil said, tugging on his mentor's cloak. When Halt looked at him, Gil pointed to a word in the cookbook. "What does this mean?"

Gil was pointing at the word 'simmer'.

"It means to boil at a low temperature."

"Oh...wait, how do you boil something at a low temperature?"

And it didn't stop there. Gil was asking questions every five minutes. Finally, it drove Halt outside, looking for some peace. Not fifteen minutes later, Halt heard his apprentice calling.

Annoyed, Halt called back, "Gil, I'm busy. Deal with it yourself!"

"Uh...okay..."

There was silence for about half an hour. After that half hour, Halt started to get uncomfortable. Even though he had told Gil, in partially uncertain terms, to shut up, it was unusual that he'd actually done so. Deciding to see what was going on, Halt went back inside.

And saw his apprentice cleaning a bloody table, with one hand wrapped partially in a bandage.

Gil looked up. "Uh...I cut myself, but you wanted me to leave you alone...and I got blood all over the table...sorry..."

Halt said nothing, instead rushing to his apprentice and checking the bandage. After dressing and rewrapping the (not so small) wound, Halt reminded himself to never leave Gil alone in the house again.

...and to get a new kitchen table...

* * *

I can't seem to make a fic where Halt completely hates his apprentice...is that a bad thing?


	70. 67

70. 67%

"67% Ferris?"

The twelve year old prince blushed, squirming in place. He glanced at his twin, but thankfully, Halt was playing with Cait. He couldn't see Ferris being scolded.

As the queen of Hibernia continued to lecture her younger son about his math grade, Ferris was thinking of ways to hide this from his brother. It wasn't because Halt would gloat; it was because he would be disappointed. He'd worked really hard to tutor Ferris and look at what had happened.

* * *

Across the room, Halt subtly watched his brother squirm. He knew what Ferris's grade was, but he was never going to tell his brother that. It was better than the last grade, and he was proud of that.

* * *

Gah. This was hard. Everything I came up with had to do with had to do with grades...


	71. Obsession

71. Obsession

"Alyss, we need to talk about those teddy bears..."

The blonde thirteen year old looked up at the ward attendant, curiosity on her face.

"Why?"

The attendant sighed, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to.

"...you have quite a lot...I think it's time to get rid of some of them."

For a moment, Alyss stared, wide-eyed.

"But...I can't! They _need_ me!" She dove towards her bed, which was covered, completely, with different sized teddy bears. "They don't have anywhere else to go!"

The attendant avoided rolling her eyes. Alyss had a problem. Every teddy bear she saw, she had to have. She'd throw a tantrum if she didn't get it.

But, looking at Alyss, happily hugging four teddy bears, she figured that it was a discussion for another time.

* * *

Guess what? In my mind, she hasn't grown out of it yet... *evil grin*


	72. Mischief Managed

72. Mischief Managed

It started with one cookie. One little oatmeal cookie that was supposed to be his sister's. One cookie, and Gil was hooked. He could _get stuff_ without asking. That was the most amazing thing in the world.

Of course, the next day, his first grade teacher taught about punishment for the sin of stealing the following day, and introduced the six year old to guilt and doubt. Gilan spent a week terrified before he timidly told his parents what happened. They laughed it off, patting his head.

"It's alright Gilan,' His mother said.

"Besides," His father commented jokingly. "You're only in trouble if you get caught."

And once again, a world of possibility opened for Gilan.

As time passed, the action of stealing became less conscious and more automatic. It eventually came to a point where Gil would want something, and he'd the next time he looked at his hands, it was there. Sometimes he was genuinely surprised when he'd acquired something he'd wanted a moment ago.

This is what Halt is trying to train him out of. And not that he'd admit it, but the thing that mystifies Halt the most is that the teen doesn't get caught. It's not like he's that inconspicuous, considering he's the apprentice of Arulen's most legendary figure. People do watch him, and yet nobody notices the stealing.

"Gil," Halt says now, seeing the small box in his apprentice's hand. "Where did you get those playing cards?"

"Playing...?" Gil looks down. "Oh. I...I'm not really sure."

And as much as he tries to hide it, there's one small part of Halt that thinks that, maybe, this is impossible.

* * *

Halt first noticed Gil's problem when things in his cabin started to disappear and turn up in unexpected places. His knives, his arrows, and worst of all, mail. The thing that tipped him off was that all of the missing items turned up close to his apprentice's room. After watching Gil for a bit, Halt notices that his apprentice didn't seem to even be paying attention to what he was doing. After trying, extensively, to get Gil to stop, Halt gave up, only telling Gil off when he'd messed with something important and only scolding him when he'd stolen something unimportant.

* * *

Gil jumps when he sees Halt sitting on his bed, glaring disapprovingly...and furiously.

"W-what did I do?"

Reaching behind him, Halt pulls out his cloak. His formerly green and brown cloak. Which was now a bright pink. Earlier in the week, Halt had seen Gil take it, but he didn't see it as important, since he had another one. The thing that worried him, he sees now, was the expression on Gil's face and the mischief contained within.

* * *

Gil winces, rubbing his back. His whole body hurt from all of the extra chores Halt had given him.

Halt didn't tan the skin off backside, but he did come close.

* * *

EmoPaperclip-xD, this is for you. I've done it! Readers, read hers too, it's pretty awesome :3


	73. I Can't

73. I Can't

Will couldn't sleep. This had been happening more and more frequently, starting when his last year of apprenticeship began.

Throughout his entire apprenticeship, he'd realized what an awe-inspiring figure his mentor was, and more recently, how much everybody else, and more importantly, Halt, expected from him.

It was all very daunting. Will knew that it wasn't impossible; Gil had done it. But _knowing_ that something was possible and _feeling_ that something was possible were entirely different things. Will knew that he could probably do everything that everybody expected him to; he just didn't feel like he could. How could he measure up to the most legendary figure in Arulen's history?

_I can't_, he thought, hugging himself. _I just can't_.

* * *

Aw, poor Will. He needs a confidence booster. Just in case you're wondering, this is set right before Erak's Ransom.


	74. Are You Challenging Me?

74. Are You Challenging Me?

Crowley knelt on the ground, holding his bleeding nose. He _hated_ being short. Everybody was always picking on him.

Hearing footsteps close to him, he looked up, eyes widening when he saw his best friend stomping up to the guy who just punched him in the face.

Halt glared up at the bully. "What did you do that for?"

The guy smirked. From his position on the ground, Crowley noticed how huge this guy was.

"Why not?"

Halt snorted. "With that logic, you should have absolutely no problem with me hitting you."

The guy laughed, long and loud. "Are you challenging me, you little shrimp?"

Instead of answering, Halt kicked him sharply in the shins. As the bully cursed in pain, Halt started to run, dragging Crowley behind him.

* * *

When they got back to Crowley's father's stables, Crowley started to cough.

"Okay, running with a bleeding nose is a really stupid idea."

"At least you know how it feels to be punched in the face now."

"...shut up."

* * *

Am I the only person who thinks that Halt and Crowley got picked on when they were younger?


	75. Mirror

75. Mirror

Halt jerked awake to the sound of something shattering. Rushing to the living room, he saw his apprentice kneeling in front of a bunch of broken glass. Halt, worried, ran to his apprentice.

"Gil, are you alright?"

The blonde teen looked up at his mentor, horrified. "No. I broke a mirror!"

Relief flooded the Ranger. "Oh."

"Oh? _Oh_? I broke a _mirror_, Halt! I'm going to be cursed for seven years! I'm going to be the worst Ranger in the world, and I'm going to disappoint you..." Gil's eyes filled with tears. "I already messed up BattleSchool, I can't mess this up too..."

Halt patted Gil's shoulder. "Gil, you'll be a great Ranger, a broken mirror won't change that."

Gil looked up, hope filling his eyes. "You think I'm going to be a great Ranger?"

Halt nodded, already realizing that he was going to regret doing so...

* * *

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the funniest Ranger of all? ...that was ridiculous...

Also, I'm three quarters of the way through! Wow...I didn't think I'd get this far, seriously. Thanks for the 6000+ views and the 80+ reviews, guys! :3


	76. Broken Pieces

76. Broken Pieces

Benny gulped. He was _doomed_. Papa was going to kill him when he got home. The six-year-old looked at the shattered dishes in dismay. Maybe...maybe he could fix them...

Kneeling among the wreckage, Ben sorted the plates according to design. None of the plates matched, so it was relatively easy to do. There were little cuts appearing on his hands as he matched the plate shards, but he paid no attention to them. His entire focus was on keeping himself out of trouble.

* * *

Needless to say, Gil was a little bit alarmed when he saw his son kneeling in a bunch of broken pieces with bleeding hands. Benny looked up guiltily.

"Papa it was an accident I didn't mean to, I was going to fix them I promise!"

For a second, the Ranger just stared. Then he said, "You're going to fix those, huh?"

Benny nodded, gulping.

"How exactly are you going to do that without glue?"

The six-year-old looked at the dish shards.

"...oh. I didn't think of that..."

* * *

I didn't feel like doing anything angsty...


	77. Test

77. Test

"You did very well on this test, prince Halt."

The elder Hibernian prince gulped, wincing inwardly. He wished his teacher hadn't said that in front of his brother. Ferris had started to get really bitter lately, as if he was jealous about his brother's achievements. Halt had done all that he could to avoid appearing superior to his brother, but their teacher were always praising him and reprimanding Ferris for his sloppy or unfinished work.

The fifteen-year-old didn't have to look at his twin to know that he was glowering. Halt, trying to help, had offered to tutor his brother, but he was flatly turned down.

Halt felt a pang in his heart, thinking about how he'd helped his brother two years ago.

As bad of a student his brother was, Halt really missed tutoring Ferris.

* * *

And so it's begun. Does this count as angst?


	78. Drink

78. Drink

"Daddy?"

"In a second Danny."

"But," Danny whimpered dramatically. "I'm thiwsty."

Will narrowly avoided saying 'So?'.

"Danny, I'll get you a drink in a bit, okay?"

Seemingly satisfied, Danny was quiet for a few minutes. Unfortunately, this didn't last.

"Daddy, I'm stiww thiwsty."

The Ranger sighed. "Danny, just wait, I'm going to get you something to drink, okay?"

Danny snorted and stormed off. After pondering for a second, Will figured that there was nothing to worry about. Danny was too short to reach the water jug on the counter. For once, Will was thankful for his short stature.

At least until Danny started whining for water from kitchen.

* * *

Ugh. I can't seem to write more that little ficlets...well, I promise I'll write a big one soon, one that's at least 500 words.


	79. Starvation

79. Starvation

Evelyn curled up on her blanket, hollow stomached and cold. She wanted to go _home_, to her warm room and bed. Where she could actually have enough food to get her through the day without her stomach aching.

She sniffled, missing Arulen winters, the kind that didn't seep permanently in her _bones_. A winter where she always had a warm fire to sit down by, where she didn't have to work 'till her hands cracked.

No matter how hard she tried, Evelyn couldn't stop thinking about Arulen. She hated Skandia, with it's stupid slavery. Most of all, she hated how slaves were treated, kept in cold drafty houses with too little food.

* * *

To me, she's whiny. This isn't even the worst she can get, and she's all, 'I'm a princess, I deserve better'. At least, that's how I see it. You may see it differently.

And holy crap, it's a post in the _afternoon_. That's special. Maybe it's because it's my birthday :3


	80. Words

80. Words

Gil knew that they were just words. But they hurt like words never should. Each burrowed into his skin like a splinter, eventually working their painful way to his heart.

_Stick_ _insect_! Gil curled tighter, pressing his hands over his ears, which did no good, as the words were stuck in his mind.

_Bean_ _pole_! They echoed through his brain, making his eyes fill with tears. The words, the names held so much more malice than any that his sister had ever said, even in her worst rages.

_Worthless_ _wimp_! And those were the words that stung most of all. They hurt worse than every jab at his height and appearance. Those words dictated his feelings, heightened his insecurity that he couldn't do this, couldn't be the warrior that MacNeil trained, the warrior his father wanted him to be. He never fought back, not after he was caught the very first time that he did. After his punishment, the words started. The words that hurt more than the ache in his legs from the exercise, the headaches from the late-night studying, the large purple-blue bruises from the combat training. It was the words that drove him close to painful tears every night, to barely contained sobs that rubbed his throat raw.

The words pulled him deeper, entangling him. They tied him tight to the BattleSchool that he hated more than anything. They coiled around him tightly, chokingly.

* * *

Poor Gil. I imagine, obviously, that he got out of BattleSchool because he was picked on and he felt like a failure. *pout* Poor baby...


	81. Pen And Paper

81. Pen And Paper

"Cam?"

The dark haired fifteen-year-old gulped down her half-chewed bite of apple, wincing as chunks, just barely, stuck in her throat.

"Yes Gil?" She replied in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"Do you have any lessons that aren't _doodled_ on?" The blonde Ranger sighed. "Honestly, Cam, you've got a shorter attention span that I did when I was your age."

"Hey, I-" Cam stopped short, picking up in what Gil had just said. "You had a short attention span?"

Gil sifted through her work, shaking his head. "I had the attention span of a fruit fly. I'm surprised Halt didn't kill me out of frustration. He'd be saying something about the history of the Rangers or Arulen, and if something floated by the window, I'd be out the door and chasing it before he finished his sentence. And you know his sentences aren't particularly long. At least you can focus you attention on the pen and paper."

Cam grinned. "A fruit fly."

Gil looked back at his apprentice and smiled back. "Yup. Maybe even less."

The girl snickered, thinking of telling Gil there was something interesting just outside the front window, but decided against it. She really didn't need the extra chores...

* * *

Gil will always strike me as a person with a short attention span.


	82. Can You Hean Me?

82. Can You Hear Me?

"Will? Can you hear me?"

The nine-year-old nodded before realizing that Jenny couldn't see him.

"Yeah, I can hear you!"

"Are you hurt?"

Was he hurt? He'd just fallen into a dry well, but, strangely enough, nothing was broken. At least, nothing that he could tell.

"I don't think so!" Squinting upwards, Will could see the sun reflecting off of Jenny's blonde hair.

"I'm going to go and get help!" Jenny called down, and then Will couldn't see her anymore. Sighing, he sat down to wait, and promptly sneezed. It was _really_ dusty down here. Maybe...Will tapped the side of the well, checking to see how sturdy it was. After it didn't crumble, he made his decision, and began to slowly climb out.

* * *

When Jenny came back with help, one of the ward attendants, Will was almost at the top of the well. Anxious, the ward attendant helped him up the last few meters.

"How on earth did you fall into a well, Will?"

Under the layer of dust, Will's cheeks flushed.

"Jenny and I were playing tag, and I started to run backwards..."

The ward attendant tsked. "Well, it's a miracle you aren't hurt."

* * *

Will's a lucky little shrimp, isn't he?


	83. Heal

83. Heal

Danny squirmed in bed, pouting. He wasn't going to be able to do _anything_ for a _month_. Not with his leg broken. It wasn't even his fault. It was that stupid bully that was chasing him. He was the reason his leg got stuck in that crack and that he'd broken it trying to pull it out.

The six-year-old sniffled, thinking of everything that he would miss when his leg was healing. He wouldn't be able to ride Tug, or play tag with Benny and Aurora, of play Knights and Rangers. This month was going to be horrible.

* * *

Sitting at the kitchen table, Will thought about how upset his son was about not being able to do much for a month.

The Ranger groaned inwardly. This month was going to be hell...

* * *

Well? Would you wanna be stuck with the most dramatic kid in Arulen for a month?


	84. Out Cold

84. Out Cold

Halt squirmed as far back as he could in the narrow alley. It was just his luck that he'd encountered that bully from a week earlier. The good thing was, the guy was huge, so there was a very small chance that he could fit in Halt's hiding spot.

The bad thing was that the guy knew where Halt was hiding, so he just blocked the entrance, and Halt couldn't get out, since there was a brick wall behind him.

Simply put, the entire situation was just a waiting game. Would Halt try to escape first, or would the bully get bored first?

Halt jumped when he heard a solid thud. He watched the bully teeter, then fall, revealing his best friend Crowley, who was holding a small plank. The sandy-haired teen nudged the bully with his foot, as if checking to see if the guy was dead. Finally, he looked up at Halt.

"He's out cold. Come on."

Without further prompting, Halt squeezed out of the alley, and he and Crowley ran back to the latter's father's stables, just in case the guy woke up prematurely.

* * *

Aw. Somebody needs to take care of that guy...


	85. Spiral

85. Spiral

"I'm supposed to say it to the _horse_? Why didn't you just _tell_ me that?"

"Because," Halt said calmly. "You were supposed to figure it out yourself."

Gil rolled his eyes. "Or die trying, apparently."

His mentor glared at him. Gil grinned and walked up to Blaze, who was now much calmer. Carefully patting her neck, he said the code word and after hesitating, swung onto her back. Once sitting, he froze, afraid she'd throw him off again, but instead she stayed still, waiting for him to tell her what to do. Warily, Gil tapped his heels against her sides, and then all hell broke loose.

Blaze, strangely enough, began to gallop in wild circles, terrifying both Gil and his mentor.

It was all Gil could do to hang on, so figuring out how to make Blaze stop running wasn't really on option.

Half an hour later, Blaze decided to stop running. Gil immediately got off and ran inside. Halt went to give a certain horse trainer a piece of his mind.

* * *

Anybody think that Blaze and Gil had any more problems?


	86. Seeing Red

86. Seeing Red

Gil could hear the whispers. They were so loud that he wondered if they were meant for him to hear. Most of the remarks were about how skinny he was and how unfit he seemed for BattleSchool. That, Gil didn't mind too much. In fact, he didn't mind the whispers at all. It was the blatant remarks that got under his skin.

"Hey Bean Pole."

Gil looked up from his homework, already regretting it.

"Is it true you're only in BattleSchool because your father felt sorry for you?"

Alone, this comment wouldn't have bother Gil much. But after weeks of belittlement and teasing, the teenager saw red. He got up and punched the older boy in the face, knocking him down, then, holding him down, and kept punching until he felt a hand at the back of his collar, dragging him off.

He'd almost gotten kicked out for that fight. And most of the time, he wished that he had.

* * *

Remember how I mentioned Gil getting into a fight in one of the earlier themes? This is why it happened.


	87. Food

87. Food

Will lay on his bed, reading a letter from Gilan. They'd been corresponding since Will and Halt had come back from Skandia.

"Just so I know that you haven't been captured or exiled or anything," Gil had said jokingly.

"Of course," Halt had replied. "I doubt that would stop Will writing to you."

Will smiled at the memory, and then turned his attention to his letter. It was pretty routine, except for the closing:

_Hope you have a great Thanksgiving,_

_Gil._

In the entire course of his life, Will had _never_ had a great Thanksgiving. He hadn't even had a _good_ Thanksgiving.

...then again, he was with Halt, so it's not like he really has to worry about celebrating Thanksgiving, right?

* * *

Halt looked up when Will came in. He'd been out sending the letter he'd written to Gil and collecting whatever mail had been addressed to Halt's cabin.

"You got something from Gil," Will said as he laid a pile of mail in front of Halt, a letter with Gil's handwriting on the top.

Halt nodded in basic acknowledgment, and Will poured himself a cup of coffee and went to his room.

As Halt opened the letter, he heard Will practicing his mandola. Halt had never been one for music (and after the Solitary Plains, he acquired a special dislike for flutes), but hearing Will practice his mandola always brought a smile to his face. Not in Will's presence, but still. He turned his attention back to Gil's letter:

_Halt,_

_I know that you're the anti-holiday king, but please, __please__ remember Thanksgiving for Will's sake, okay?_

There was more to the letter, but Halt ignored it, his mind drifting back to his first Thanksgiving with Gil...

* * *

"So, Halt, are we going to get ready for Thanksgiving, or what?"

"Hmm?" Halt was ignoring his apprentice, choosing instead to read reports that Crowley had given him.

Gil sighed, irritated, and yanked the reports of Halt's hands. Halt glared at him but kept his voice level.

"Yes Gil?"

Gil smiled sweetly. "When are we going to get ready for Thanksgiving?"

Halt took his reports back. "We aren't."

Halt's apprentice stared at him, speechless as he went back to his reports.

"You can go home for Thanksgiving, if you want, but I don't do Thanksgiving."

"B-b-but...it's Thanksgiving!"

Halt snorted internally. From what he remembered, Thanksgiving was an occasion with too much food and where people he didn't know came over and lied about being thankful when they were really miserable.

"And that means what, exactly?"

"It means..." Gil stopped speaking, noticing that Halt was just barely paying attention to him. Gil saw Halt reaching for his coffee and he grabbed it before Halt could. Halt glared, and then gave Gil his full attention. Annoyed attention, but attention nonetheless.

"It means," Gil started again, with a superior note in his voice and Halt's half-full mug of coffee in his hands, "that you cook a big meal, sit with your family and friends, and be thankful for having both."

Halt arched an eyebrow. _Nope, not that different from when I was a kid_. "Coffee."

Gil handed Halt his coffee. "Mark my words Halt, we will have Thanksgiving this year, and we will enjoy it. Even if I have to do it all by myself."

Halt sipped his coffee and ignored his apprentice as Gil walked out of the room. He very much doubted that.

* * *

Outside of the kitchen doors of Redmont castle, Gil gulped nervously and ran his hand through his blonde hair. He didn't like to admit it, but he was afraid of Master Chubb. There was something...terrorizing about that man. Gil wasn't sure if it was his demeanour or his ladle, but he avoided the master chef whenever possible.

In this situation, however, entering the kitchen was unavoidable. If Gil had to choose between getting hit on the head with a wooden ladle and proving Halt wrong...he'd choose the ladle every time.

Master Chubb had his back to the door when Gil crept inside. He was fully expecting the chef to whirl around and order him out of his kitchen, and stood stock still for a minute, wondering why he didn't. Then he remembered his training and almost laughed aloud, stopping himself when he realized he was more likely to get hit if he surprised Chubb.

"Master Chubb?" Gil said softly, hesitantly.

He whirled around, with floury rolling pin in his hand. "Oh. It's just you. What would you like, Gilan?"

Gil, surprised that he didn't get yelled at, stammered, "I...uh..."

Chubb cut him off. "Out with it boy!"

The apprentice Ranger flinched and blurted, "I'd like a turkey! Please."

The master chef looked confused for a second, and then realization dawned on him. "For Thanksgiving? Halt won't like it, you know."

Gil nodded. "Yeah. But I'm trying to change that."

Master Chubb laughed inwardly. "Good luck, Gilan. Go to the cold cellar and tell the boy you find there that I sent you for a turkey."

The apprentice Ranger was already walking out if the kitchen, "Thanks!"

Chubb started to turn back to his pastry, but stopped when he realized something. "Wait! Don't you want to know how to cook that?"

"I'll be fine!"

The master chef sighed and went back to rolling pastry, planning on a way to get a list of ingredients and instructions to his fellow CraftMaster's apprentice.

* * *

Lady Pauline was on her way to talk to Baron Arald when she spotted Gilan with a sack over his shoulder. Feeling slightly uneasy, she called him.

"Gil!"

He turned around, surprised, and then waved cheerily. Pauline motioned for him to come closer.

"Why, exactly, do you have a sack?" She asked Gil when he was in earshot.

Gil grinned widely. "Thanksgiving."

Pauline nodded. "You're going home, then?"

"Nope. I'm going to spend it with Halt.

Pauline was silent for a moment. Then she arched one eyebrow in a very Halt-like manner. "And is he aware of this plot?"

"Well...yeah, but he doesn't think that I'm serious."

Pauline smiled. "That isn't very surprising."

Gil shrugged. "Trust me, I'm going to change his mind. I gotta go!" With a wave, he walked in the direction of his mentor's cabin.

Pauline smiled wryly to herself and resolved to find out, exactly, how Halt and Gil's first Thanksgiving went.

* * *

As soon as Gil got home, he went to work. And immediately realized that he had no idea how to cook a turkey.

Just as he got ready to go outside again, there was a knock on the door. Upon opening it, he found a teenage boy rubbing his head and holding out a piece of paper.

"Master Chubb says to give this to you."

"Thanks." Gil smiled at the boy, who looked surprised, as he was not expecting even the apprentice Ranger to be friendly.

"You..you're welcome, Ranger."

The boy walked back towards the castle, still somewhat stunned.

Gil sighed and went back into the kitchen. He'd never get used to that...but then again, he'd never get tired of surprising people. He grinned. Especially, his mentor. As he read Master Chubb's instructions, Gil's resolve to actually make a good Thanksgiving dinner, and thus, a good Thanksgiving, strengthened.

* * *

"Pauline, why do you keep smiling at me like that?"

The tall blonde smiled more cryptically, if that was even possible.

"You'll see."

Halt gave Pauline a wary look and after saying goodbye, he turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Halt turned, and Pauline gave him a pumpkin pie. "Happy Thanksgiving."

The only thing that kept the Ranger from rolling his eyes was the fact that Pauline was the one who'd wished him a happy Thanksgiving.

* * *

When the Ranger reached his cabin, he couldn't have been more surprised. Gil was sitting at the kitchen table...and he was crying. He looked up at his mentor and attempted to glare at him, but burst into a fresh round of tears instead.

After Halt recovered from his initial shock, he asked his apprentice what was wrong.

Gil rubbed his eyes. "You were right. We won't have Thanksgiving this year."

"...why?"

"I set the turkey on fire!" And although he started to sob again, Halt suppressed the almost overwhelming desire to laugh. Eventually, the need to comfort his apprentice kicked in, and he realized why people celebrated Thanksgiving.

"Thanksgiving isn't about the food, Gil. It's about recognizing your blessing and being thankful for them. And right now, I'm thankful for having such a considerate wonderful apprentice."

Gil half-smiled and wiped his eyes again. "We're still going to starve."

Halt patted Gil's shoulder. "Pauline gave me pie."

* * *

"Halt?"

The Ranger looked up at Will, snapping out of his memories.

"Are..." Will squirmed, thinking of how to phrase it. "Are we, by any chance, going to celebrate Thanksgiving?"

Halt smiled inwardly, both thinking back and anticipating Will's surprise. "Yes."

* * *

It's a long fic! It's also long overdue, since I promised this to EmoPaperclip-xD last October...anyway, here ya go!


	88. Pain

88. Pain

Gil was stuck. His leg was caught between a crack in two stones, and every time he tried to pull it out, pain flared through it. And the fact that he was too far from Halt's cabin to call for help made the situation even worse.

Gil chewed his lip, trying to figure out how to get out. Pulling, obviously, wasn't working. Calling Halt wouldn't work either...Gil squirmed, tugging his trapped leg inadvertently and crying out in pain. At this point, the only thing the Ranger apprentice could think to do was to call Blaze, as useless as it seemed. He whistled, long and loud, the sound echoing, he hoped, back to his mentor's cabin.

And when he'd given up on being saved, and long legged bay pony appeared, with Halt following curiously behind.

* * *

I was actually going to write more about his wife's death, but I was like, "You know what, I'm not going to write anything really angsty today." I'm not in the most optimistic of moods today.


	89. Through The Fire

89. Through The Fire

When Gil saw his son sitting on the front porch, he knew that something was wrong. Benny, now twelve, gulped nervously. Gil noticed that his hands were behind his back, hiding something, and his sleeves appeared to be scorched.

"Hi Papa..." Benny began, his nerves evident in his voice. Gil wasn't going to be misled.

"Benny, what happened?"

He squirmed, ducking his head and hunching his shoulders. He was tall for his age, like his father had been. Apparently speaking to his feet, the almost-teen mumbled what the Ranger guessed was a confession.

"I'm sorry Ben, what was that?"

Gil's son took a deep breath. "I set the kitchen on fire." He pulled a bucket from behind his back. "But I put it out..."

From the hesitancy in his son's voice, Gil guessed that something worse than just that had happened.

"And..."

Ben gulped. "The...the kitchen table caught on fire too...and it wasn't cleared off..."

When his father didn't reply, Ben cautiously looked up. Meeting his father's eyes, he saw frustration as intense as the flash fire in the kitchen. Through the fire though, he saw his father, very carefully, calculating an appropriate punishment.

* * *

This was inspired by one of EmoPaperclip-xD's 100 Theme's entries. Read it, it's kinda unrelated, but funny.


	90. Triangle

90. Triangle

Crowley looked out at his best friend. Halt had finally got the girl, and there was no turning back. He went to meet her at every opportunity he got, sometimes even sneaking out of work, claiming that it was cosmic retribution for all the times Crowley was 'deep in thought' and left Halt to do all the work. The sandy-haired teen had grumbled and groaned, but that didn't stop him from covering for his friend.

Not that it stopped the regret and occasional jealousy that rose up when he saw Halt and Pauline together. He'd helped that to happen, even though he liked Pauline just as much as Halt did. He kept telling himself that he's gotten them together to make his friend happy, pushing down any other doubts.

Still...he looked out of the window again. By this point, however, Halt and Pauline were out of sight.

Did it count as a love triangle if one person didn't admit their love?

* * *

Seriously though...does it?


	91. Drowning

91. Drowning

Will sat bolt upright in bed, gulping in air. A moment ago, he would've sworn that he was drowning. He'd been dreaming about that voyage to Skandia as a captive. More specifically, he was dreaming about the storm that had almost wrecked the wolfship he and Evelyn were riding in. Will had never been more certain of his eminent demise than he was in those petrifying hours. After learning of his mentor's seasickness, he had never told Halt how terrified he had been, so Evelyn was the only person to share his burden with, but that wasn't exactly reassuring. He didn't know if she had nightmares like he did. For all that he knew, he was the only one who had the feeling of icy salt water rushing into his lungs, pushing out air, paralyzing his chest and leaving him unable to breathe.

And for Will, that made everything so much worse.

* * *

Uh...am I the only one who thinks Will has nightmares? He's been through some seriously traumatizing stuff...


	92. All That I Have

92. All That I Have

"But you probably think that I'm crazy, don't you Caitlyn?"

The Hibernian princess shook her head. Everything that Halt had describes sounded exactly like something that Ferris would do.

"I don't think that you're crazy."

Halt sighed in relief. "Thank god. Nobody else would believe me. They think I'm being overdramatic."

Caitlyn snorted. "Ferris is an attention-seeking, power hungry idiot. Why wouldn't I believe you?

"It's not a case of you not believing me Cait, it's a case of adults believing me." The elder Hibernian prince rubbed his forehead, sighing.

"Although," He said. "I'm happy that you believe me."

Caitlyn smiled and hugged Halt. As he hugged her back, Halt thought that maybe, just his little sister knowing about his suspicions wasn't that bad. Even if she was all that he had.

* * *

Just a warning, this will probably be the only fic where I feature Halt's little sister.


	93. Give Up

93. Give Up

"No, no, _no_!"

This was Benny's response to his father telling him that it was bedtime.

"Benny," Gil said, keeping his composure. "No matter how much you yell, you still have to go to bed."

The two-year-old glared daggers at his father. "No! I don't _want_ to go to bed!"

It took forty-five minutes to get Benny to bed, and he was fighting tooth and nail. Gil crept out of his son's room, closing the door as silently as he could, trying his best to keep his son from waking up. After he'd closed the door, he leaned against the opposing wall, forcing back tears. Not for the first time, he felt like he couldn't do this. There was no was that he could be a good father, not without Arabella.

More often than not, Gil felt like he couldn't fight the urge to give up.

* * *

Gil needs a hug. Or to remember that Jenny likes him...

Oh, and to everybody who wants me to continue my RA Owner's Guide and Manuals, I need your help. I need you guys to go to my Formspring and ask questions about the characters units that you want me to write about. In case you don't know, the link to my Formspring is on the top of my profile marked 'Question Page'.


	94. Last Hope

94. Last Hope

"Ferris, do you want to go fishing?"

The younger Hibernian prince regarded his twin coldly, and Halt almost gave up. He was about to tell Ferris to forget it when his twin surprised him by saying yes. Halt couldn't help the hope that flared in his heart. Maybe he could explain to Ferris that he didn't want to be king anyway, so there was no reason for Ferris to be jealous. Once Halt got the throne, he'd planned to abdicate anyway, so Ferris could get the throne and everybody would be happy.

He had to explain all of this to Ferris; he had to make him understand. It was his last hope.

* * *

Am I the only one who thinks that Halt tried to salvage his relationship with his brother?


	95. Advertisment

95. Advertisement

"Crowley, this is ridiculous."

Crowley grinned widely at his best friend. "Halt," He began brightly. "Just think of it as cosmic punishment."

Stuck in a sandwich board that came to his ankles, there was little Halt could do. Well, he could glare, but at this point, it didn't work on Crowley.

"Cosmic punishment for _what_, exactly?"

"For abandoning me to work by myself in favour of hanging around Pauline."

Immediately, Halt grabbed the opportunity to torment his friend. "What's the matter, Crowley? Are you jealous?"

The sandy-haired teen blushed, but tried, unsuccessfully, to keep a poker face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"And that, of course, is why you're blushing."

Crowley blushed even brighter. "Why would I be jealous? And who would I be jealous of?"

Halt grinned at his friend's discomfort. "Why, Pauline, of course. While I'm with her, you have nothing to do and nobody to talk to. You want me all to yourself, don't you?"

Crowley's response was to shove Halt, knocking him onto his back, which, in the sandwich board, left him stuck right where he was as Crowley left the room, silently thanking God that Halt didn't figure out the truth.

* * *

I had no idea what to do with this chapter...so I wrote about Halt teasing Crowley.


	96. Into The Storm

96. Into The Storm

"Halt, why can't I go outside?"

"Because, in case you haven't noticed, there happens to be a blizzard going on."

Gil snorted, looking out the window grumpily. The only thing he saw was swirling white, but that didn't stop the fifteen-year old from hoping that he could go outside.

"It...it might now be that bad..."

Halt rolled his eyes. "Gil."

Reluctantly, Gil looked at his mentor.

"If you're even thinking of going out in that storm, I'm going to send you back to BattleSchool, and I'll make sure you stay there until you finish your training."

Gil shuddered, but that didn't sway him from his mission.

* * *

Halt couldn't find his apprentice. He combed through his cabin a few times, but soon accepted that his apprentice wasn't inside the cabin. This left only one option.

Taking a deep breath, Halt opened his front door, hoping his apprentice didn't get too far. He looked in the stables first, since that was closest and he hoped that Gil would've actually come to his senses and gone to the stables after he realized that the weather was worse than he thought.

When Halt reached the stables, he was relieved and incredibly angry in quick succession.

Upon hearing a noise by the door, Gil turned and saw his livid mentor. He cringed, silently praying that Halt wouldn't send him back to BattleSchool. His prayers were answered.

Unfortunately, what Halt had in mind was much worse.

* * *

Poor, poor, stupid Gil...


	97. Safety First

97. Safety First

Gil was trying to coax his apprentice from under the bed.

"Cam, the world isn't out to get you."

The fifteen-year-old sneezed. "It is so!" Her voice was muffled.

Gil sighed and crossed his legs, settling in. This was going to take longer than he thought.

"Cam, it was a complete accident that Blossom knocked you over. It wasn't supposed to happen."

"It was so! The universe is hardwired to screw me up!"

"Cam," Gil said in his calm voice. "The universe is not hardwired to screw you up. You were just having an off day."

Cam peeked out from under the bed. "I'll come out on one condition."

"And that is?"

"You have to make sure I don't get hurt."

"Cam, I'm your mentor. That's my job."

"Gil, Halt was _your_ mentor, remember?"

"...you have a point there..."

* * *

She does. Am I the only one who thinks that Halt can be a bit too evil to his apprentices?


	98. Puzzle

98. Puzzle

Gil's eyes were narrowed in intense concentration, as if his entire future rested on him getting the puzzle right. His mentor watched from across the table, but every time he started to speak, Gil held up a hand to silence him. Halt rolled his eyes, forgoing his attempts to help his apprentice, who was becoming increasingly frustrated with the tangram he was trying to assemble. Finally he growled and gave up cursing under his breath.

Halt looked up and, reaching across the table, arranged the tangram into a square in a matter of seconds. When he looked up, he saw that Gil was giving him a glare strong enough to melt a saxe knife.

"And you didn't think to tell me you me that you knew how to make a square with that stupid puzzle?"

"You're the one who kept ignoring me."

"...touché."

* * *

Have you _tried_ to do those things? They're really hard! I was gunna make Gil get really mad, but I thought it would be funnier if Halt did the thing in five seconds.


	99. Solitude

99. Solitude

"Well," Crowley began. "We screwed up."

Halt gave his friend a very clear 'I am _not_ amused' look. "He fired us and kicked us out. How does that even fit into the realm of screwing up! And by the way, it was all you fault!"

Crowley hid a grin, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well...we could always look for other jobs..."

"And what of we can't find any? What do we do then?"

"Uh..." Crowley though about it. "We get really famous?"

Without another word, Halt turn around and stormed off. Fifteen minutes later, Crowley found him by the stables.

"You know, no matter how much you get, he won't give you your job back."

Halt sighed. "I know, I just...there's nowhere else I can go. I can't go home, and now I don't have a place to stay." Halt swallowed hard. He wasn't looking forward to being by himself again.

Crowley shrugged. Clearly, none of this was worrying him. "Eh, we'll figure something out."

Halt was just about to berate his friend, but then he noticed the 'we'. "Wait...you're not going to weasel your way back into your father's good graces?"

"No. I'm not sure if I can right now anyway. So, anyway..."

Halt only half-listened to whatever hare-brained plan Crowley was coming up with, choosing instead to reflect how nice it was to not be alone.

* * *

I wanted to do another friendship between Halt and Crowley before I finished the themes. :3


	100. Relaxation

100. Relaxation

Crowley leaned back in his chair happily. He loved his job, being the head Ranger. Unlike what most people thought, it actually didn't involve doing anything really difficult. Especially since a lot of Rangers were doing their own paperwork.

Well, he did have to make some pretty big decisions and he had the power to promote apprentices to fully fledged Rangers, but compared to what Halt did, it was all rather simple. Halt, of course, knew this and tried to torment Crowley about it, but when he realized that Crowley liked being the laziest Ranger in the Corps, he gave up, muttering something about how people never change.

Crowley grinned, remembering one of the things he had that Halt didn't; a chance to relax.

* * *

And with Crowley gloating, we end my 100 Themes challenge. Thanks for reading and reviewing everybody! I can't believe I got so much attention for this (_106_ reviews, _1,855_ visitors, and _12,278_ views).

Thanks to EvoftheDark for reviewing to much, to Frogata for being my first reviewer, to Esmerelda Diana Parker for being my 100th reviewer, and to EmoPaperclip-xD for letting me use some of her themes as inspiration.


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